2021 Dutch Grand Prix - What happened?

Return to Holland

After 26 years, Formula 1 returned to Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix. The organisation had been working for years to get the sport back to the dunes and in 2021 the time had come. A year later than planned due to the coronavirus pandemic and because of the ongoing problems with the virus, only two-thirds of the crowd was present, but that didn't spoil the party.

The weekend in Zandvoort got off to a difficult start with a 35-minute red flag for Sebastian Vettel's car. The car had come to a standstill and marshals were not allowed to do anything because the car was electrified. It was not the desired start for the organisation, but with music the audience was entertained.

The action became more and more exciting throughout the weekend, especially as Mercedes and Red Bull Racing were once again very close to each other. This was evident during qualifying, when the difference between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton was just 0.038s. To the delight of the crowd, Verstappen was the one with the fastest time.

Mercedes can't break Verstappen

From the front of the grid, Verstappen held onto the lead under pressure from Hamilton, but Verstappen never really pulled away. He stayed out of Hamilton's DRS, but couldn't extend the gap. Yet Hamilton failed to pass Verstappen with an undercut. Valtteri Bottas was also kept out longer by Mercedes to hold off Verstappen, but that didn't stop Verstappen from retaining the lead either.

With only one pit stop, the race was effectively over and Hamilton could never mount a serious attack on Verstappen. The Briton wanted the fastest lap and had it, until Bottas improved that time on fresher tyres. This was against orders from the pit wall, so Hamilton had to come in for an extra stop. On the final lap of the race, the seven-time world champion took the point away from his teammate. Bottas finished the race where he started, from P3.

In that regard, overtaking proved a difficult task anyway, as with Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc on P4 and P5, the entire top five stayed where they had qualified. Fernando Alonso gained three places (from P9 to P6) and Sergio Perez drove from the pit lane to eighth. Carlos Sainz (P7), Esteban Ocon (P9) and Lando Norris (P10) also finished in the points.