Qualification

Formula 1 returned to the Netherlands 36 years after the last Grand Prix in the country took place at the Zandvoort circuit. The comeback was supposed to take place last season and be a treat for Red Bull's Max Verstappen fans. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, the first race was postponed for another year after a long hiatus, when the organizers received permission to sell tickets.

"Zandvoort" refers to the old European tracks, on which there is so little space that it is almost impossible to overtake, therefore the results of the race largely depend on the qualifications. Before her, the racers had to urgently get acquainted with the circuit, which not everyone did quickly. Occasionally, this or that driver flew off the track in training, and Carlos Sainz of Ferrari even crashed his car during the last session of free races.

Not without incidents and qualifications, on which all the pilots made a special bet.

In the first session, a serious struggle broke out between Haas riders Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher.

According to the agreements within the team, the Russian should have been the first to make his test attempt - the right to it usually alternates from one stage to another.

However, Schumacher bypassed Mazepin before the start of the third wave, leaving him in traffic.

He did not tolerate this and tried to go ahead again, but in the end they both only blocked the trajectory of Sebastian Vettel from Aston Martin, who at that moment was going on his fastest lap.

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This episode was pending before the stewards. They decided not to punish anyone for him, but Mazepin was not satisfied with this outcome, and he attacked his partner with criticism.

“I'm really annoyed, to be honest, because traffic shouldn't have been that difficult. Within the Formula 1 teams there is a rule that one weekend the first on the track is your car, and the next - the other. This time it was my turn to be the first car. In Imola, I overtook the first car and received it from the team. And now this has happened to me for the second time: my partner is overtaking me, sending me into traffic, and deliberately spoils my final attempt in qualifying, so I'm not happy. If you do it once, unknowingly, then that's okay. But twice is already on purpose. I don’t like it when there is some kind of friction, it shouldn’t be that way, ”Mazepin said in an interview with Motorsport Week.

Schumacher replied that he did not understand the claims of his partner. According to him, he received permission to overtake from the engineer, as Mazepin was driving too slowly on his warm-up lap. He also noted that McLaren's Lando Norris squeezed between them, so there can be no questions for him. After that, Mazepin once again spoke to reporters, giving an unpleasant characterization to his partner.

“We need to find a procedure that every pilot is obligated to follow at all times. We are, as everyone says, a young team. So, I think we can become better and more perfect, understand the situation and become stronger thanks to it. I don’t like it when people show their insolence fighting for 19th place. I think this shows their true face, and for me this is unacceptable. I'll just be myself, no matter the outcome. I will listen to the boss of our team, Gunther Steiner, and do what is ordered until the last day of my career in Formula 1, which, I hope, will not come very soon, "Racefans quotes the Russian.

Be that as it may, both Haas drivers were on the last two lines of the protocol, but they could start the race from the ninth row - Nicholas Latifi from Williams and Sergio Perez from Red Bull had several parts replaced, which made them go to the pit lane.

Pole position was taken by Verstappen, who snatched just 0.038 seconds from Hamilton in the last attempt of qualifying.

They turned up in their thousands 🧡



And @ Max33Verstappen did not let them down!

👏 # DutchGP 🇳🇱 # F1pic.twitter.com / hU8YRhJBln

- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 4, 2021

Race

The first lap of Sunday's race could determine who will win the Grand Prix, as well as who will lead the overall standings of Formula 1. Before coming to the Netherlands, Verstappen reduced the gap from Hamilton to three points and had excellent chances to get ahead, it was enough only to avoid serious mistakes in the main race.

The race began without incident, and all the leaders of the starting grid remained in their positions. Unlucky only Antonio Giovinazzi from Alfa Romeo, who started in a high seventh position for himself, but due to contact with Fernando Alonso from Alpine fell back three lines. Mazepin proved to be the best in the first lap - he overtook Schumacher in the dispute for 17th place, and soon became an insurmountable obstacle for Perez. The Mexican, in an attempt to pass the Russian, blocked the tires so badly that he had to wrap up in the pits for a new set.

Verstappen continued to hold the first place and soon achieved an impressive achievement - he completed his 1000th lap as the leader of the race. Hamilton sometimes cut the gap from him, but did not come close to the position for the attack. Then Mercedes decided to call the reigning world champion into the pits and provoke Verstappen to the same step, so that at the same time he would be between Bottas and Hamilton. In part, this plan worked - on the new tires, the Briton began to approach his main competitor, but the Finn did not cope with his duties. Quite early he had to let Verstappen go ahead.

The German team did not lose hope of winning. Shortly after passing the equator of the race, Hamilton drove into a second pit stop and took the risk of choosing medium-hard tires that could get ahead of Verstappen, but it would be difficult to reach the finish line at a high pace. Red Bull decided not to take risks and gave the Dutchman the strongest tires so that he would not worry about their wear. And again, Mercedes' plan did not work - the three-second gap between the two leaders did not close in any way.

Just before the end of the first hour of the race, bad news came from Haas. Although Mazepin dropped back to 19th place, he practically guaranteed himself a finish higher than his partner, which in the circumstances could not but please him. Schumacher had a breakdown of the front wing at the beginning of the race, because of which he was almost a minute behind the Russian. But suddenly Mazepin had to turn into the pits and leave the car. He had hydraulic problems and for the third time this season the Haas pilot had to retire.

In the final quarter of the race, Hamilton nevertheless went on the offensive against Verstappen. The British driver managed to show the best lap in the race twice and close the gap to 1.7 seconds, but that was the end of his exploits. Approximately 12 laps before the finish line between the two leaders again formed a solid gap for the attack. When the chances of winning were very small, Bottas suddenly drew attention to himself. He intercepted the best lap from his team-mate in an attempt to take away an extra point for the World Cup. Hamilton did not tolerate this and immediately went to the pit stop for fresh tires. His final lap, he still drove faster than anyone else in this race.

Because of this maneuver, Bottas Verstappen could early celebrate the victory, which the fans greeted with an orange fire show in the stands. He won the seventh stage of the season and was three points ahead of Hamilton ahead of his next race, the Italian Grand Prix.