113 replies to this topic

[ANF]

Best driver:
Worst driver:
Best team:
Worst team:
Best overtake:
Worst overtake:
Best moment:
Worst moment:

And the race in a sentence:

[FLB]

Best driver: Verstappen. No question. Honorable mention to Alonso and Gasly
Worst driver: Mazepin (is a running gag)
Best team: I don't know. Most of the teams had one driver who was quite a bit better than his teammate
Worst team: Hard to argue Merc couldn't have managed this better
Best overtake: Alonso at the start
Worst overtake: I can't think of any
Best moment: The crowd, the atmosphere... The whole thing!
Worst moment: Vettel spinning. That could have been a whole lot worse
 

 

And the race in a sentence: Just what the doctor ordered after Spa   

Edited by FLB, 05 September 2021 - 15:13.

[Topsu]

Best driver: Verstappen
Worst driver: Tsunoda
Best team: Red Bull
Worst team: Haas
Best overtake: Alonso turn 3
Worst overtake: Perez on Norris
Best moment: Orange army!
Worst moment: Everyone but top 3 getting lapped

And the race in a sentence: This track is a spectacle, but does not make for a good race.

 

6/10

[Ramon69]

Best driver: Verstappen

Worst driver: MazeSpin

Best team: Red Bull

Worst team: HAAS

Best overtake: Alonso at the start!

Best moment: The atmosphere/the crowd in general (it's up there with the Monza crowd!), but also because they showed class by not booing! 

Worst moment: Vettel spinning!

 

OKish race, but I can't complain! It was nice to see a full race after a long time, especially at such an iconic circuit!

[sofarapartguy]

Best driver: Max with Gasly close behind 
Worst driver: Checo
Best team: RB surely. Calm and calculated. 
Worst team: Haas and their quali adventures 
Best overtake: Alonso on Lap1. You would not expect anything less from Fernando. 
Worst overtake: Vettel on AR I believe. Seb not again please. 
Best moment: Whole event was outstanding. And Bottas to take fastest lap. Attaboy! 
Worst moment: Radio to Bottas for pitting and NOT getting a FL lap. 

And the race in a sentence: Was really excited about racing on a proper racetrack. Was pleased to see some cars in the gravels in FP when every mistake is punished and bravery is rewarded. Limit is called limit for a reason, you do not cross the line and get away with it. Hopefully F1 will learn from Zandvoort. And yes, Max was exceptional under pressure. 

Edited by sofarapartguy, 05 September 2021 - 15:26.

[IrvTheSwerve]

8 or 9. Tension all the way through. Decent amount of PROPER overtakes. Amazing atmosphere. Great to watch F1 cars through some iconic corners. Home win for the Dutch star.

 

Unsure if you can expect too much more. There will be some classics here, for sure.

[Derrick]

Best driver: Max, no one came close.
Worst driver: Mazespin
Best team: Red Bull. Perfectly executed strategy and pit stops. Fending off two equally paces Mercs with one car is great stuff.
Worst team: Haas
Best overtake: Alonso trough the first few turns. Such special awareness.
Worst overtake: Dunno
Best moment: Max on the podium with the Dutch flag while the anthem was being sung live. Absolute goosebumps.
Worst moment: Nothing.

And the race in a sentence: brilliant, brilliant stuff. Can’t wait for next year!

[SenorSjon]

Gave it a 10. The atmosphere was ecstatic, no track limit whining all weekend long and no controversy for the first time since Austria2. Tense race for the lead and the two best of their respective generations trying to win.

[Mark1865]

Best driver: Gasly
Worst driver: Gio
Best team: Red Bull
Worst team: Merc for the strategy
Best overtake: Gasly on Alonso
Worst overtake: -
Best moment: Lap 1 battles
Worst moment: Laps 2-72

And the race in a sentence: Great looking track but not suitable for modern F1. Maybe the 2022 cars will improve things.

[William Hunt]

Best driver: Verstappen was in control all race

Honorable Mention:  Perez for making up his bad Saturday with a very convincing drive on Sunday overtaking a lot of cars after he started from the pits

                                   Gasly: another strong performance
Worst driver: Vettel was rather dissapointing (Tsunoda as well)

Worst team player:  Bottas: what was he thinking trying to set a fastest lap time whilst Hamilton was holding that point and his team told him not to do it! Big thumbs down for Valtteri, that was not behaving as a team player
Best team: Red Bull  (Perez also was competitive and overtook most cars so the car was excellent)
Worst team: Haas, in particular for them messing up in Qualy and hindering Vettel
Best overtake: Alonso on lap 1
Worst overtake: --
Best moment: Seeing this historic location back on the calendar. I've missed it, '85 is a long time ago.
Worst moment: -- (maybe Kimi's positive Covid test)

Edited by William Hunt, 05 September 2021 - 15:46.

[mclarensmps]

This track is awful, but I get why it has to be on the Calendar. 

[Quickshifter]

A race where the best and worst driver came from the same team.

[William Hunt]

This track is awful, but I get why it has to be on the Calendar. 

 

I think the track is great and I'm also am of the opinion that not every track should be easy to overtake, we need variation and I love the setting of racing in the dunes. The F3 cars showed a lot of action on Saturday and showed that you can have a spectacular race there with overtaking, off course those cars are slower and more compact. The track also has some of that old school vibe where going off track will be punished and I like that.

Still Zandvoort back on the calendar is a welcome edition.

[sambalter]

Best driver: Verstappen / Gasly

Worst driver: Pérez / Tsunoda

Best team: Alpine

Worst team: McLaren

Best overtake: Alonso on turn 3

Best moment: Bottas fast lap, ignoring team order

Worst moment: TV Director not showing the action   

[maximilian]

Sounds like yet another absolute borefest I don't need to regret not watching even one second of.

[JimmyClark]

Sounds like yet another absolute borefest I don't need to regret not watching even one second of.

 

This track is awful, but I get why it has to be on the Calendar.

 

 

Well, we still have Sochi and Abu Dhabi to come, so enjoy those! 

 

 

7/10 for me. It didn't have any moments that live in the memory, but I loved watching the race - the drivers were well behaved when it mattered, and seeing the top 2 not separated by more than 3 seconds for most of the race made it very tense. Some good passes down the field too, but no DRS giveaways. No track limit nonsense. The cars looked great driving on this circuit. All in all very enjoyable. 

Edited by JimmyClark, 05 September 2021 - 17:03.

[MasterOfCoin]

Well, we still have Sochi and Abu Dhabi to come, so enjoy those! 

 

 

7/10 for me. It didn't have any moments that live in the memory, but I loved watching the race - the drivers were well behaved when it mattered, and seeing the top 2 not separated by more than 3 seconds for most of the race made it very tense. Some good passes down the field too, but no DRS giveaways. No track limit nonsense. The cars looked great driving on this circuit. All in all very enjoyable. 

One thing i always admire about "DRS giveaways" is the right guy winning....

[William Hunt]

strange that several people mention Perez as worst driver. In particular strange when you compare his race with Vettel (spin and poor race) or Tsunoda (invisible) or Giovanzzi (qualified great as 7th but dropped back during the race, don't know why he lost so many positions).

Yes Perez had a terrible Saturday but he started from the pits, had to come in early (flat spot) but then he had very good pace, he passed a huge amount of cars including both Mclaren's and still salvaged some points despite starting from the pits. He still had a pretty good race on a track that's not easy to overtake. So how could he have been the 'worst' performing driver? He was pretty strong imho.

Edited by William Hunt, 05 September 2021 - 19:41.

[Brawn BGP 001]

strange that several people mention Perez as worst driver. In particular strange when you compare his race with Vettel (spin and poor race) or Tsunoda (invisible) or Giovanzzi (qualified great as 7th but dropped back during the race, don't know why he lost so many positions.

Yes Perez had a terrible Saturday but he started from the pits, had to come in early (flat spot) but then he had very good pace, he passed a huge amount of cars including both Mclaren's and still salvaged some points despite starting from the pits. He still had a pretty good race on a track that's not easy to overtake. So how could he have been the 'worst' performing driver? He was pretty strong imho.

He locked up behind a Haas which cost him a pretty easy top 4 finish (as that meant he was lapped early and spent the majority of the the race behind Norris).

Edited by Brawn BGP 001, 05 September 2021 - 17:14.

[A3]

Those complaining about Bottas setting the fastest lap. He said the plan was for him to stop so Lewis could get a free stop. He lifted massively in S3 and was just having fun. That lap was the best moment in the race for him.

[Bloggsworth]

I was right to go and play golf, though I will commend the drivers for avoiding red flags. The first 6 through the 3rd corner were the first 6 past the flag.

[Beamer]

Really, really, really dont ubderstand the complaints about this track or race.

[404KF2]

I recorded it but will nix the recording without watching.

[smitten]

Best driver: Verstappen - controlled the weekend.
Worst driver: Mazepin - guy would cause loads of crashes if he had a more competitive car
Best team: Nobody stood out
Worst team: Nobody stood out
Best overtake: n/a
Worst overtake: n/a
Best moment: Seeing the fans supporting the home hero
Worst moment: Nothing stood out

And the race in a sentence:  Pretty forgettable if it wasn't for the fans. (I quite like the strategic races, but if this had been at a non-historic circuit without the partisan fans, this would have not been a race rated highly by the forum!)

[Carrinthe]

I was right to go and play golf, though I will commend the drivers for avoiding red flags. The first 6 through the 3rd corner were the first 6 past the flag.

 

You haven't seen it so you don't know what you're talking about. Yes, in the front there was not much overtaking but it was such an intense strategic battle between Mercedes and Red Bull. It was almost 76 laps of nail biting stuff where Lewis never trailed with more than 3 sec until he gave in a few laps before the end. And although Lewis trailed Max he had superior strategic options with Bottas as his wingman and having one more fresh set of mediums also could have given him a real chance when played right. And seeing those cars in this atmosphere driving with anger is this incredible track was just magical. And there were some suburb overtakes as well. I'm in love with turn 3 Hugenholtz, what a sight seeing two f1 cars side by side going through that corner. 

Edited by Carrinthe, 05 September 2021 - 17:51.

[EightGear]

Really, really, really dont ubderstand the complaints about this track or race.

I genuinely don't understand either.

It was tense from start to finish.

[Carrinthe]

I recorded it but will nix the recording without watching.

Let me guess, the wrong driver won,.... 

Edited by Carrinthe, 05 September 2021 - 17:55.

[Beamer]

I recorded it but will nix the recording without watching.

Good for you.

[Jbleroi]

Best driver: max, handled the pressure well, didnt put a foot wrong and delivered the goodies
Worst driver: mazepin 
Best team: there was not an outstanding team

Worst team: Haas 
Best overtake: first lap of alonso, 
Worst overtake: perez on mazepin
Best moment: max winning in front of the home crowd
Worst moment: vettel losing it. 

And the race in a sentence: no track limit bollocks, old school circuit, great atmosphere en de close battle between the two championship contenders during almost the whole race and it could have gone either way

Edited by Jbleroi, 05 September 2021 - 18:24.

[Squeed]

He locked up behind a Haas which cost him a pretty easy top 4 finish (as that meant he was lapped early and spent the majority of the the race behind Norris).

 

Another late blocking move in the braking zone from Mazepin

[messy]

I quite liked it. It felt like a bit of an ‘old style’ race, tense and close without much actual overtaking at the front. Max and Lewis were on a different level again. Their duel was really tense. How easily, had Lewis not had a slow first stop, could he have had Max at the end of the first stint? There were times where Lewis was closing, times when Max was under control - ultimately the right guy won unquestionably but there were a few little twists and turns, it wasn’t a complete demonstration run. Further back, some really nice overtakes. Special mention to Latifi for one (or was it two?) of the best of those. Perez coming back through was entertaining too.

And hey, those saying it was a borefest, at least it was better than Spa, huh?

Best driver - Verstappen - wanted to give it to Gasly because he was superb, but can’t overlook the fact Max produced near perfection at home under intense pressure from his title rival and a seat of orange.
Worst driver - Tsunoda, I’m really yet to see what others do in this guy. He’s just plain slow most of the time and really erratic. Vettel was awful too.
Best team - AlphaTauri, for elevating Gasly up to those heights all weekend.
Worst team - Haas continue to never threaten to do anything other than do a great Manor 2015 impersonation.
Best overtake - Alonso’s opening lap was incredible. He’s still a genius.
Best moment - the atmosphere, the sea of orange, **** off Covid-19.
Worst moment - some woman singing the national anthem. WTF. No, no, no. Step away from that microphone and just someone press ‘play’ on that old cassette tape you’ve always used, thanks. Not having that.

In a sentence - the atmosphere was the star.
7.5/10

Edited by messy, 05 September 2021 - 18:40.

[Squeed]

The frantic nature of the race made it seem much more competitive than it was.  

The fact that you need more than a 1 second pace advantage to set up a DRS pass on the front straight makes it more of a procession than a race, but maybe the ground effects down force will change that next year. 

[Hezekiah]

Snorefest, just another Sochi.

[Ivanhoe]

Lol at the poster rating this race with a 2 whilst claiming “not needing to regret not watching even one second of it”   

 

I rated it with a 9, but that may be due to the fact that I was at the track with my son for his 1st GP 41 years after my dad took me and my brother to our first GP at the very same track where we saw Nelson Piquet win. Saw more overtakes than expected and the whole weekend was an amazing experience. Thank you Zandvoort   

[A3]

Sounds like yet another absolute borefest I don't need to regret not watching even one second of.

 

So why exactly did you rate it a 2 without even watching it?

[Baddoer]

Something like Monaco, just with no glamour. Pointless.

[wj_gibson]

I don’t mind that there wasn’t all that much action as such, it’s a proper drivers’ circuit that. It’s interesting that the stand out drives were Verstappen, Hamilton and Alonso.

[Mat13]

Lovely looking circuit to watch cars drive round on- very nice not to hear any whining about track limits either. I’m not sure I understand the gushing about how tense it was, the victory was never in doubt and overtaking was sparse to say the least. Gave it a five.

[Nemo1965]

Best driver: Max Verstappen. Under immense pressure he delivered. If he was any more coolheaded, he would be ice-cold. But we still don't know how he would handle pressure, right? (Snort)
Worst driver: Mazepin. Being an enfant terrible is one thing. But he races with his teammate like the worst Russians (the fat, noveau riche ones, the maffia kind) rush buffets in restaurants. 
Best team: Mercedes. They eeked out the maximum result and put maximum pressure on Red Bull and Max. 
Worst team: Haas. I understand the financial struggle but any team-owner who can accept behaviour like that of one of your drivers... 
Best overtake: Perez, outside Tarzan. 
Worst overtake: Ocon on Alonso. That could have been ugly.
Best moment: When Olav Mol (Dutch broadcaster) uttered a sigh of relief that Max and Lewis did not crash in the first lap.
Worst moment: When the Dutch singer butchered my national anthem. Twice. Worst was the singing during the podium ceremony. That beautiful brass and copper of Het Wilhelmus and again this fake R & B belting vomiting all over it.

And the race in a sentence: Monaco in the Dunes. A spectacle without being spectacular, tense without crashes.

[A3]

 

That beautiful brass and copper of Het Wilhelmus and again this fake R & B belting vomiting all over it.
 

For me it was a nice change.

[mclarensmps]

Well, we still have Sochi and Abu Dhabi to come, so enjoy those! 

 

 

7/10 for me. It didn't have any moments that live in the memory, but I loved watching the race - the drivers were well behaved when it mattered, and seeing the top 2 not separated by more than 3 seconds for most of the race made it very tense. Some good passes down the field too, but no DRS giveaways. No track limit nonsense. The cars looked great driving on this circuit. All in all very enjoyable. 

I'm just glad Monza is next 

[Squeed]

Lol at the poster rating this race with a 2 whilst claiming “not needing to regret not watching even one second of it”   

 

I rated it with a 9, but that may be due to the fact that I was at the track with my son for his 1st GP 41 years after my dad took me and my brother to our first GP at the very same track where we saw Nelson Piquet win. Saw more overtakes than expected and the whole weekend was an amazing experience. Thank you Zandvoort   

The look in a kid's eyes when they hear the PUs for the first time is golden!

[zanquis]

Best driver: Verstappen.
Worst driver: Mazepin
Best team: 
Worst team:
Best overtake: Alonso lap 1
Worst overtake: Perez on Norris
Best moment: Bottas doing purple in sector 1 and 2 despite being told to not do a fastest lap
Worst moment: Bottas not doing a purple time in sector 3 to really bring the point home...

And the race in a sentence: Racing as it should be 2 drivers pushing each other lap after lap and no holding back. For years people complain F1 is too much fuel and tire management. Not today, not today. this was real racing.

[Ultraviolet]

Well eff me, that was terrible. Two hours of my life I will never get back. I'm not sure which was worse, the race itself or the commentators' cringeworthy attempts to pretend that something was going to happen. Truly awful. May we never have another Zandvoort race again.

[Ultraviolet]

You haven't seen it so you don't know what you're talking about. Yes, in the front there was not much overtaking but it was such an intense strategic battle between Mercedes and Red Bull. It was almost 76 laps of nail biting stuff where Lewis never trailed with more than 3 sec until he gave in a few laps before the end. And although Lewis trailed Max he had superior strategic options with Bottas as his wingman and having one more fresh set of mediums also could have given him a real chance when played right. And seeing those cars in this atmosphere driving with anger is this incredible track was just magical. And there were some suburb overtakes as well. I'm in love with turn 3 Hugenholtz, what a sight seeing two f1 cars side by side going through that corner. 

Oh, come off it. Nail biting be damned. It was quite clear from very early on that Hamilton had no chance of catching, let alone overtaking Verstappen. There was zero competition for the top six places, and no significant non-DRS battles anywhere else. The only interesting thing that happened all race was Bottas ignoring team orders to set the fastest lap.

[PayasYouRace]

I gave it a 7, so surprised that the mode rating is 8. Clearly a better race than the vocal few are giving credit for. But isn't that how it always goes?

[zanquis]

You haven't seen it so you don't know what you're talking about. Yes, in the front there was not much overtaking but it was such an intense strategic battle between Mercedes and Red Bull. It was almost 76 laps of nail biting stuff where Lewis never trailed with more than 3 sec until he gave in a few laps before the end. And although Lewis trailed Max he had superior strategic options with Bottas as his wingman and having one more fresh set of mediums also could have given him a real chance when played right. And seeing those cars in this atmosphere driving with anger is this incredible track was just magical. And there were some suburb overtakes as well. I'm in love with turn 3 Hugenholtz, what a sight seeing two f1 cars side by side going through that corner. 

If I could change 1 thing on this track it would be T1 to T3, the weight transfer of turn 2 to 3 makes it very tricky, see Sainz crash. I would make it so after turn 1 drivers are more likely to be able to fight all the way to turn 3.

The corner is amazing with the outside line faster but this opens up an inside long if you have the advantage/balls to do so. 

[zanquis]

Well eff me, that was terrible. Two hours of my life I will never get back. I'm not sure which was worse, the race itself or the commentators' cringeworthy attempts to pretend that something was going to happen. Truly awful. May we never have another Zandvoort race again.

 Could have been worse.. imagine commentators pretending that Lewis might not win the race after his only competitor is out in lap 1 and only a massive error of him could ruin it.

[Heyli]

I gave it a 7, so surprised that the mode rating is 8. Clearly a better race than the vocal few are giving credit for. But isn't that how it always goes?

A 7 is probably fairer to be honest. Quite a few things upped it for me, most of them probably come down to Bias...

 

But I expected less of the track (and less of RB on this track with the hardest tyres!), that upped it a bit. First Dutch GP in ages that's another +. Old school, no track limit discussions Well behaving fans, great atmosphere. Great exciting qualy and over the whole weekend a result I'm also happy with. 

 

A race like this on another "normal" track would've probably scored a 6 or a 7 I guess. (there were still some overtakes and I do think Merc & RB were close enough to make the battle noteworthy at least).

[zanquis]

Oh, come off it. Nail biting be damned. It was quite clear from very early on that Hamilton had no chance of catching, let alone overtaking Verstappen. There was zero competition for the top six places, and no significant non-DRS battles anywhere else. The only interesting thing that happened all race was Bottas ignoring team orders to set the fastest lap.

 A good undercut was about 3 seconds worth. had Mercedes not messed it up then it would have been possible. Lewis was in that range. And you never know with Lewis how long his tires really can last.