Several drivers produced stand-out performances at Zandvoort but one clearly rose above the rest.
Here’s RaceFans’ driver ratings for the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.
Lando Norris
▶ Fastest throughout practice but missed pole position by a hundredth of a second
▶ Lost a place to Verstappen at the start but repassed him after nine laps
▶ Was poised to finish second when a technical failure put him out with seven laps to go
7/10: Never looked like getting ahead of Piastri in race but unlucky to lose second
Oscar Piastri
▶ Incurred a fine for McLaren in second practice by swerving in front of Russell in the pits
▶ Got on terms with Norris in qualifying and pipped him to pole position
▶ Resisted pressure from Norris and Verstappen through multiple restarts
8/10: Worked on his initial deficit to Norris and came out ahead when it mattered
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Charles Leclerc
▶ Looked unhappy with his car throughout practice but narrowly beat Hamilton to sixth on the grid
▲ Got ahead of Russell at the start
▶ Unlucky to lose place to Russell in Safety Car period triggered by his team mate
▶ Went off-track when he re-passed Russell but stewards let it slide
▶ Told team he didn’t want to pit in response to Antonelli but they brought him in anyway
▶ Taken out of race by Antonelli
7/10: Not at his usual pace in qualifying but combative in the race before he was taken out
Lewis Hamilton
▶ Spun twice in practice but was a close match for Leclerc’s pace in qualifying
▶ Held his position at the start and kept pace with cars ahead
▼ Crashed out by himself when the track started to get damp
▼ Received a five-place grid drop for a pre-race yellow flag infringement
4/10: Insisted he felt more comfortable in the Ferrari but it seldom looked that way
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Max Verstappen
▶ Chipped away at Red Bull’s set-up as usual and qualified just two tenths of a second off Piastri
▲ Used soft tyres to dramatically pass Norris at the start
▶ Said there was no point trying to keep Norris behind after being passed by him
▶ Collected second when Norris retired
8/10: Back to business as usual after Hungary
Yuki Tsunoda
▼ Exactly half a second off Verstappen in qualifying
▲ Started on softs and immediately passed Alonso and Antonelli
▶ Pitted before first Safety Car and fell to 12th when others changed tyres later
▶ Switched to softs during the second Safety Car period
▶ Passed struggling Gasly at the end for 10th and picked up another point from Antonelli’s penalties
5/10: A somewhat fortunate return to the points after poor qualifying performance
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
▼ Understeered into a gravel trap in first practice and got stuck
▼ Admitted a small error on his final lap cost him a place in Q3
▶ Lost a place to soft-tyres Tsunoda at the start
▶ Got his first pit stop done under the Safety Car which put him eighth
▲ Made opportunistic pass on old-tyred Ocon at turn 10 at first restart, then picked Albon off with DRS
▶ Mercedes waved him past Russell and brought him in for a second pit stop
▼ Took Leclerc out with clumsy move and collected a penalty
▼ Earned a second penalty for speeding in the pits
4/10: Had the potential for a better weekend but made too many mistakes
George Russell
▶ Qualified fifth on the grid, just three-hundredths off third place
▼ Lost a place to Leclerc at the start but regained it by pitting later
▶ Picked up floor damage when Leclerc hit him in restart pass
▶ Brought car home fourth
6/10: A clear podium chance missed
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Lance Stroll
▼ Crashed heavily in second practice, leading team to replace his chassis
▼ Crashed again in Q1 before he set a time
▶ Very early pit stop got him in free air which helped when the Safety Car was deployed
▲ Passed Bearman before Safety Car and moved up to 10th when Sainz and Lawson collided
▲ Passed Ocon for ninth on tyres which were eight laps younger
▶ Entered pits as Leclerc crashed, so lost a place to Bearman
▶ Passed Bortoleto and Gasly (both on old tyres) and was let past Alonso for seventh place
6/10: Very poor until the race, where he was flattered somewhat, but also made vital passes on the Haas pair
Fernando Alonso
▶ Showed strong pace on Friday
▼ Q2 lap would have put him seventh on the grid but he ended up 10th
▼ Lost three places at the start, one to Tsunoda on softs
▲ Pitted early, passed Tsunoda but lost out when the Safety Car appeared
▶ Made another early pit stop and passed Saubers and Colapinto on fresher tyres
▼ Bearman pounced on him at turn 11 after second restart
▶ Let Stroll past immediately when team told him to
▶ Eventually got past Gasly for eighth
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.264s faster
7/10: More luck would have helped but so would a better qualifying position and start
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Franco Colapinto
▶ Two-tenths off Gasly in Q1 and missed the cut by less than a tenth
▶ Passed Gasly with softer tyres early on but was told to let him past again later
▶ Pitted before first Safety Car which dropped him towards the back
▶ Took tyres in each of the later Safety Car periods
▶ Delayed behind his team mate after final restart and lost time to Tsunoda and Ocon, who he narrowly failed to catch
6/10: Could have had a chance of a point if Alpine had moved Gasly aside quicker
Pierre Gasly
▶ Improved his time in Q2 but car looked little better than 14th on the grid
▶ Pitted during the first Safety Car period and tried to run to the end
▶ Lost places to Bearman and Stroll before final Safety Car period, then struggled massively at the end
▶ Told to let Colapinto through, also lost places to Lawson, Hulkenberg and Sainz
▶ Fell to last on final lap
7/10: Impressive attempt to one-stop his way to the points was thwarted by final Safety Car
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Esteban Ocon
▼ Felt he could have got into Q2 but made a slight mistake on his final lap
▶ Started on hards and lost a place to Hulkenberg on softs
▶ Pitted moments before Leclerc’s crash caused the second Safety Car period, which cost him places to Tsunoda and Bearman
▶ Passed struggling Gasly for final point
7/10: Timing of sole pit stop meant he lost out to his team mate
Oliver Bearman
▼ Couldn’t improve his time after switching back to new tyres in Q1
▶ Started from the pit lane after team’s parc ferme rules breach and power unit change
▶ Didn’t defend when Stroll attacked him on fresher tyres early in the race
▶ Exploited second Safety Car period to make well-timed pit stop
▲ Opportunistic pass on Alonso opened the way for him to take sixth
8/10: Needed luck to go from pits to sixth but put a fine pass on Alonso
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Isack Hadjar
▶ Did no useful running in second practice due to a power unit problem
▲ Qualified a superb fourth on the grid
▲ Kept his place at the start and weathered early pressure from Leclerc
▶ Inherited third place when Norris retired
9/10: Needed to wring every hundredth from his car to reach the podium, and he did
Liam Lawson
▶ Solid job to qualify eighth but eclipsed by his team mate’s performance
▼ Didn’t need to risk contact with Sainz but did and paid a high price
▶ Had to complete race on soft tyres
▶ Salvaged 12th place with help from Safety Car
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.117s faster
6/10: One misjudgement wrecked an otherwise decent weekend
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Alexander Albon
▼ Went off in second practice and damaged his front wing
▶ Blamed poor tyre preparation lap for his Q2 elimination
▲ Terrific start moved him up five places to 10th
▶ Picked up the pieces of Sainz and Lawson’s collision for fifth
7/10: Didn’t look as quick as Sainz but cashed in by making a cracking start and staying out of trouble
Carlos Sainz Jnr
▶ Williams’ pace dipped as track temperatures rose but Sainz got his car into Q3
▶ Held his place at the start
▶ Could have avoided the incident with Lawson but didn’t deserve a penalty
▶ Like Lawson, had to complete the race on soft tyres
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.033s faster
6/10: Good qualifying effort, harshly penalised for a clear racing incident
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Nico Hulkenberg
▶ More than a tenth of a second off Bortoleto which cost him a place in Q2
▶ Gained one place by starting on softs
▶ Fell to last by pitting shortly before first Safety Car period
▶ Took mediums for final stint but was passed by those who switched to softs
5/10: Long first stint on softs made little sense, nor did staying on mediums at the end
Gabriel Bortoleto
▲ Beat Hulkenberg into Q2, where he matched Tsunoda’s time and felt Q3 was possible
▼ Very poor start, lost six places
▶ Picked up front-left end plate damage in contact with Stroll
▶ Pitted for softs between last two Safety Cars which left him last until he passed Gasly
5/10: Undid excellent qualifying performance with poor start
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Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
