The current house of the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the calendar in 2021 after changes for modern Formula 1 machines, but has organized 34 world world championships. While the 2025 season is resumed in Zandvoort, Haas driver Esteban Ocon is your guide for the track of 2,646 miles.
“The first time I racet here was in DTM. So it was the old configuration – in principle the same layout, but no banking in turn 3 and the last corner. So the last corner was much more a challenge, and Turn 3 was a different line.
‘But when I came here, I thought:’ Ok, this is a great song! ‘In DTM it was great because it was almost flat in his turn 7, and that didn’t really change from that moment.
“It is an old-fashioned track, as we like them. And I think that for once these new changes have made it even better. It is not normally the case: we put new curbs in it and lose things, the tracks lose the character and I am not the biggest fan of that. But this number has not done that, so that’s good.
“I think it would have been possible to race here without banking, but it would probably have been even harder to catch up. And probably you would probably have been less interesting in the beginning, because you could now get a few different rules when there was only one.
“So you would probably not have overtaken in turn 3 – or not that much – but I don’t think it would have changed the world. I mean, they race here in the 70s and 80s, so it’s possible.
“We don’t get banking often. We certainly don’t get it as serious as we have here. And Turn 3 is also a very different challenge than the last corner. It is very strange. Especially if you are going to walk there, you just can’t easily go to the top. For the American fans it is just like Daytona, where they can’t climb to the top either.
“I know it’s less degrees [18 degrees angle at Zandvoort, 31 at Daytona]But what is interesting is that you can get so many different lines. I don’t think you’ll get it perfectly every round, because you have a way to enter banking, which is very narrow as a window, and if you are a bit too far, you can lock the inner wheel and not have all corners on the floor.
“If you also come in too early, you are not positioned as you should. And the higher you go, the more grip you have. So it is a very interesting angle and probably the most difficult of the year, technical.
“In turn 3 it compresses you a lot. There is a way in which when it compresses you, you have the feeling that it is going in the right direction. In short, it means that the grip will come nicely and that you can turn more to leave – it is like a disaster when you leave it.
Zandvoort’s banking promotes a number of different lines, which says Ocon says for a number of interesting technical challenges. Andrew Ferraro/Getty images
“The last corner is simply easy flat. If it was like a flat surface, it would probably not be possible to use DRS. It would be flat, but not with Drs.
“From a home point I would say that it is the same compromises if you have anywhere else, really. There is no special set -up in terms of camber or such things that you would get in an oval racing because we only have one limited grip corner. The rest of the track you have to set the car normally.
“In any case, you are quite aimed at the Kambers in terms of Pirelli instructions – you can’t really go upstairs what they tell you. So you wear the outside of the band a little more compared to a normal song, I would say, especially the last corner. But the world doesn’t change.
“I love the song. I really enjoy it, really. I think it is very difficult in wet weather – as it could be this weekend – which is a good thing because it is fun for the fans and it is nice to be here and have opportunities.
“But it is not the nicest track in the wet. The grip level is quite low for some reason. There is a high job revolution in the dry, but for some reason the intermediate tires are not the best here.”
At a glance
Race -distance: 72 rounds/190.5 miles
2024 Polar time: 1M09.673S (Lando Norris, McLaren-Mercedes)
2024 Winner: Lando Norris, McLaren-Mercedes
Pirelli -Tandstenstoeing: The connections in the game will be the C2 as the hard, the C3 as the medium and the C4 as the soft. This selection is a step softer than the one brought to the Dutch Grand Prix 2024.
Drivers receive two sets from the hard tire (C2, marked white), three sets of the medium -sized band (C3, marked yellow) and eight sets of the soft tire (C4, marked red), as well as access to the green intermediate tires and the blue complete law, if needed.
Heineken Dutch Grand Prix Weekend schedule (always Times et):
Friday, August 29
6:25 am – 7:30 am – First Exercise, ESPN2
9:55 am – 11:00 am – Second training, ESPN2
Saturday, August 30
5:25 am – 6.30 am – Third Practice, ESPN2
8:55 am – 10:00 am – qualifying, ESPN2
Sunday 31 August
8:55 am – 11:00 AM – Dutch Grand Prix (72 laps or 120 minutes), ESPN
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