Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature Drivers break away for the formation lap as gray clouds gather overhead. Your weather update: #F1 #BBCF1 #DUTCHGP RACE: With 15 minutes to go, the air temperature is 22.7C and the track is 34.7C. Not as cool as the last 2 days. wind today from the NNE. The cloud has increased lately. a few small showers recently in the area, but the risk is low. The official FIA chance of rain is 20% for this event — Ian Fergusson (@fergieweather) September 4, 2022 Lando Norris estimates that it will be a different race than last year: “There will be more overtaking, there will be more opportunities. It’s not going to be much better, but it’s a step up. So I think there’s still potential, which might lead to different strategies more this year than last year.”
How do they start?
1 Max Verstappen, Red Bull2 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari3 Carlos Sainz, Ferrari4 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes5 Sergio Perez, Red Bull6 George Russell, Mercedes7 Lando Norris, McLaren8 Mick Schumacher, Haas9 Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauriban10 Lance Strolly, As , Alpine13 Fernando Alonso, Alpine14 Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo15 Alex Albon, Williams16 Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo17 Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren18 Kevin Magnussen, Haas19 Sebastian Vettel, McLaren20 Nicholas Latifi, The Red Bull team changed the power unit in Sergio Perez’s car after a crash yesterday. “Just a precaution,” assures Horner. Christian Horner speaks: “I think many aspects will be crucial. The first is the start: get away cleanly and then, how will the tires behave? Is it two stops, is it one stop? Will Ferrari split strategies? We just have to focus on getting the best out of ourselves. It’s a tough circuit to overtake. Max did a terrific job yesterday with pole, but we have to try to turn that around today.” Nico Rosberg says Fernando Alonso is such a good driver because he has a ‘samurai presence’ on the first lap. What is your favorite samurai movie? Throne of Blood? Shogun Assassin? 13 Murderers? I’ve always been partial to Zatoichi. The big story of the week broke in the early hours of Friday morning: Australian starlet Oscar Piastri will drive for McLaren next season after a bitter contract dispute between them, an Alpine (poor Piastri didn’t enjoy all the controversy): Verstappen is the only one of the frontrunners to have a fresh set of softs. He took first place here last year with a two-stop strategy, so there’s no reason not to expect the same today Drivers make their way to the grid as the light turns green for the pit lane. Pandemonium breaks out among the orange-clad crowd. Dutch fans drink in the atmosphere. Photo: Alex Pantling/Formula 1/Getty Images How’s that for chaos, from the F2 GP. Jack Doohan’s title hope dashed by safety car restart: And Verstappen’s big home GP preview: Here’s our full recap from yesterday’s qualifiers:
Preamble
At what point does the question move from ‘who’ to ‘when’? With Max Verstappen clearer in every race, his rivals now erasing the smudges on his rear view mirror, the identity of this season’s F1 champion is becoming less important than how early he succeeds. Michael Schumacher’s all-time record – he won the 2002 title with six races to start – doesn’t look easy but if Verstappen maintains his current form then he could take the crown as early as Japan or even Singapore. And judging by yesterday, that form isn’t going to drop any time soon: Verstappen was pushed to the limit by Charles Leclerc in qualifying, but did his best to set a magnificent 1:10:342 that sees him start his home GP from Poles. With overtaking difficult here, this leaves an ominous task for the chasing pack. About this chasing pack: The Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell threatened to have their mercurial car in practice but were disappointed yesterday in fourth and sixth, mainly because it was Sergio Perez’s spin that forced Hamilton in a whirlwind – a tenth up on Verstappen’s time – to drop back, his lap broke. “The car was strong today and I felt like I could go faster,” Hamilton said. “I will definitely push as hard as I can for a podium.” Charles Leclerc looked back to his blistering best after a grueling last few races and his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz finished third. Can they unleash an unlikely double attack on the untouchable Verstappen? They should try. Lights out at 2:10 p.m. BST. Updated at 1.20pm BST
