Can anyone compete with Max Verstappen?
Max Verstappen absolutely dominated the Belgium Grand Prix weekend, and he continues his run of home races with a race in Zandvoort. Max won his home grand prix last year and he will aim to do it again so the question is, who can stop him. Charles Leclerc would be the obvious choice, but the Monegasque isn’t in the greatest run of form. Sainz has been doing better in recent races, but the Ferrari was no wear near Red Bull’s pace last weekend. Sergio Perez may have the best chance as he drives the same machinery, but he hasn’t been anywhere near his teammates pace recently. Mercedes car should perform better here than it did in Spa, but I would be very surprised if their car is quick enough to fight for the victory. I’d be surprised if Verstappen didn’t win this weekend.
Can Alpha Tauri and Pierre Gasly build on last week's positive result?
Pierre Gasly earnt his and Alpha Tauri’s first points for five races last weekend when the Frenchmen went from pitlane to P9. Pierre will hope that he can continue this run of form at a place he went very well at last year. Gasly’s P4 in both Qualifying and the race was arguably his best weekend of last season. Alpha Tauri will also hope Yuki Tsunoda can be close to his teammate as Alpha Tauri are yet to have both cars finish in the points in the same race. It’s important as they look to be in a fight for 7th in the constructors championship with Haas and Aston Martin.
Can Alfa Romeo find some pace?
Alfa Romeo sit pretty comfortable in 6th place in the constructors standings. This would be a great result for the Italian-Swiss outfit, but they have struggled in recent races. Valtteri Bottas scored points in 7 of the opening 9 races but neither him nor his teammate Zhou Guanyu have managed a point since. They need to bring upgrades fast as they are currently dropping down the car performance rankings compared to everyone else. They do need to sort this out sooner rather than later as one or two great results from the teams behind them could lead to their 6th in the championship being a bit tougher to keep hold off.
More Alpine and McLaren drama/ tension
McLaren and Alpine are firmly in the midst of a battle for fourth place in the constructors standings. This already creates a bit of tension between the teams and right now, there is definitely more pressure on the orange team as McLaren now find themselves 20 points behind their rivals after a brilliant performance from both Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon in Belgium. There is added tension as well due to the current contract issues that are going on with Oscar Piastri. Alpine believe that they have the rights to Piastri driving in their car next season, but it is heavily rumoured that Oscar Piastri has already signed a contract for McLaren for 2023. Also, McLaren are getting rid of Daniel Ricciardo and there is a chance that Ricciardo could go back to the Enstone team. I expect there to once again be a lot of questions about these matters this weekend.
Please no flares!
The Dutch Grand Prix last season was a proper event that pretty much every fan loved. You could tell when watching from home that Zandvoort is one of the best races to go to all season. They are probably going to be even more loud and hyped than last year though as now, they have the reigning World Champion coming home. The one issue with the Dutch crowd is that they keep setting off these orange flares. They did it in Zandvoort last season and it was even worse when they did it in Austria earlier on in the season. Not only is it dangerous for the drivers who will go through the see of orange more unsighted than normal but also, you can’t see what you’ve paid for as the orange smoke blocks the track meaning fans have spent loads of money to not even see the cars every lap. Hopefully, it will be policed better, and everyone will have a brilliant weekend.