What was behind the many crashes on dramatic Dutch GP Friday
Formula 1

What was behind the many crashes on dramatic Dutch GP Friday

by Scott Mitchell-Malm
6 min read

An unforgiving circuit, low-grip surface and gusty winds made for a dramatic first day of Formula 1 track action after the summer break at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Here are the main incidents that befell multiple drivers as several offs and multiple red flags meant Friday practice at Zandvoort was surprisingly dramatic.

Kimi Antonelli

Beached in FP1

Kimi Antonelli caused the first red flag of the day in FP1, beaching his Mercedes in the Turn 9 gravel.

Antonelli had a minor lock-up on the front right as he tried to slow the car down, which meant he went deep and simply ran out of grip to keep it on the track.

He slid slowly into the gravel, coming just short of the barrier, and while he managed to get into reverse gear and tried to rejoin, the rear wheels dug in and he could not move the car.

“I was pushing pretty hard early on in FP1 and then I locked up and then I got beached and my session was over after just one lap,” said Antonelli, who went on to have a quieter FP2, in 12th place and 1.3s off the pace.

“It was obviously not ideal, because I obviously lost some mileage and didn't do any laps, basically. And in FP2, I kind of had to build my rhythm.

“There's quite a bit of work to do, but we know where to improve and now looking forward to tomorrow.”

Antonelli’s team-mate George Russell also went through the gravel in FP1. He locked up at the first corner near the end of the session, but skated all the way through to the escape road on the outside so was able to rejoin without issue.

Yuki Tsunoda

Spin through the gravel

As Antonelli was stranded and the red flags were deployed, Yuki Tsunoda was just extracting his Red Bull from the gravel at a different part of the track.

About 15 seconds before Antonelli went off, Tsunoda had actually spun his Red Bull at the Turn 11/12 chicane, losing the rear as he hit the right-hand apex kerb on entry.

That only caused yellow flags, though, as Tsunoda was eventually able to crawl out of the gravel trap and continue.

“When you try to extract performance it can happen,” he said.

“Obviously it was not ideal but at the same time at least I know the limit then, [need] to just a bit more put it all together.”

Tsunoda was seventh-fastest and just over three tenths slower than Max Verstappen in FP2.

Lewis Hamilton

Two 360-degree spins

Lewis Hamilton had aborted one early lap in FP1 after catching a drift out of Turn 1, but his next push lap featured a much bigger moment through Turn 2.

Not normally a corner that catches a driver out, given it is primarily about setting up Turn 3, it is nevertheless a quick right-hander that requires a brake and a dowshift.

The downshifting just as the corner crests seemed to suddenly make the Ferrari’s rear end go light, and the car spun around 360 degrees before Hamilton gathered it up and continued - with the only damage being to his flat-spotted tyres.

It was a tough day for Ferrari, and Hamilton had another similar moment in FP2 - not in the same place, but with the same result.

This time he ran a little wide exiting Turn 9, dropped a wheel on the grass, and looped it 360 degrees again.

“I think the first one was just pushing too much,” said Hamilton. “Ultimately also ride quality is not where we want it. The car is quite unpredictable.

“The second one I touched the grass and had a snap, that was that. Hopefully no more.”

The silver lining was Hamilton outpaced team-mate Charles Leclerc by a tenth of a second, although with both almost a second off the pace, this was a poor Friday for the team that claimed a shock pole at the final race before the summer break.

“Before my spin, I think I was around a tenth up, and then I've got another tenth and a half in the last corner, so I've got to make some improvements there,” Hamilton said.

“Then we've got some work to do with the set-up. How we're going to find eight tenths I really don't know, but we'll try our best.”

Max Verstappen

Peculiar practice start off

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, F1

The most peculiar incident of the day befell home hero Verstappen, who suffered a unique off after performing a practice start.

After his launch from the grid at the end of FP1, Verstappen fully attacked the first corner, simulating the run to Turn 1 at the start of the grand prix properly.

But he seemed far too committed for the available grip and locked up slightly, which the team said was due to wrong brake balance, and slid across the gravel, coming up just short of the barrier.

Verstappen bizarrely wasn’t asked about that incident in his Friday TV appearance although he was hardly thrilled with the rest of his day either after ending it fifth-fastest and six tenthts slower than the pacesetting McLaren.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, F1

“Still struggling with the same things and again we tried a lot of things with the car but it just doesn't really seem to change anything in terms of my underlying problem,” he said.

“So we'll look overnight if we can find a bit more, but I'm not going to expect a massive turnaround, it's just tricky. Plus the layout of the track also probably doesn't suit our problems that we have with the car.

“It's just understeer, that's my main problem. In the middle sector there are a lot of long corners, so it's not great.

“I think it will be really hard enough to be in that top five, it looks like, but we will see tomorrow.”

Lance Stroll

Lucky escape

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, F1

Lance Stroll was fortunate to avoid injury in a very heavy FP2 crash at the banked Hugenholtz turn 3 left-hander.

Aston Martin was rapid on Friday at Zandvoort and in FP1 Stroll had been slightly faster than team-mate Fernando Alonso, who went on to be second-quickest in FP2.

But Stroll did not set a representative time in that session after crashing early on. He had a small front lock-up braking for Turn 3 after the car was unsettled over the bumps “and from there I was just a passenger”.

He ran wide, slammed into the barrier, and the right-hand side of the car was pulled off as it ran violently along the wall.

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, F1

This was the corner Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand at two years ago and Stroll, who wasn’t able to remove his hands from the steering wheel given how quickly it happened, had had surgery to correct a lingering wrist injury only a couple of months ago - but luckily he was OK.

“Yeah, all good,” he said when asked if his hand was 100%.

Alex Albon

Front wing in the bin

Alex Albon’s incident in FP2 was a bit more dramatic than his team-mate Carlos Sainz’s harmless trip through the gravel at the chicane in the first session.

Starting a push lap, Albon went off at the first corner as he was slightly too far the left on approach and touched the grass slightly on the outside.

That put him slightly off-line into the corner itself and he locked the right front slightly under braking, which sent him rapidly over the gravel and he nosed the barrier on the outside just enough to dislodge the front wing.

“It's very windy around here so it's very easy to get caught out by the gusts and I got caught out a couple of times in FP2,” he said.

“But nothing serious luckily, only the front wing to put in the parts bin but otherwise we'll be OK. I think the car's not too bad.”

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