Max Verstappen has an almost insurmountable lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship with the Dutch ace 125 points clear of teammate Sergio Perez, who sits some 125 points off the Drivers' Championship leader.
Dutch Grand Prix
Sunday 27 August
Circuit Zandvoort
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen 1/4
Carlos Sainz 40/1
Previous Race
It’s been an age between races and I’ve had to delve deep into the memory back to recall what happened at Spa at the close of July.
Max Verstappen was once again the star of the show with the Dutch ace winning his tenth race of the season and his third consecutive Belgian Grand Prix despite having a five place grid penalty due to Red Bull’s gearbox change.
Like his teammate, Sergo Perez produced a brilliant drive as he cut through the field to claim second and ensure Red Bull’s dominance of the Constructors’ standings continued. The Red Bulls were followed across the line by the Ferrari of Charles LeClerc, who despite starting on pole, Was unable to hold off the far superior Red Bulls.
The next two across the line were old hands Lewis Hamilton (fourth) and Fernadno Alonso (sixth). The Brit made the smart decision to pit and get on fresh tyres during the closing salvos of the race in a bid to claim a point for the fastest lap and he achieved just this. Rounding out the top 6′ was Hamilton’s teammate, George Russell.
Lando Norris was next across the line and he managed to salvage a respectable seventh position as his early form in the race was hindered by poor tyre selection from his team. Esetban Ocon was next across the line while Lance Stroll (ninth) and Yuki Tsunoda (tenth) claimed the final two points scoring positions.
Track
Built right next to the beach, the Zandvoort circuit has a certain charm to it. It kind of equates to the Saint-Andrews of the motorsport world with greenery and sand contrasting each other.
Make no mistakes though, the drivers aren’t in for a Sunday cruise as this track provides some real threats with a number of tricky turns (14 to be precise) leading up to a massive straight.
Last year’s race was won by Max Verstappen while George Russel claimed second. Interestingly enough, Charles LeClerc who claimed a couple podium positions just before the break took third at Zandvoort last year.
In terms of the weather for the weekend, we’ve got overcast conditions and a slight bit of drizzle currently being predicted throughout the race weekend.
Value Bet – Podium – Charles LeClerc – Yes
LeClerc has a decent record at the Dutch Grand Prix finishing fifth at the venue in 2021 and third last year.
He put in some decent drives before the break to boot, finishing third at Spa and second in Austria.
There’s some decent value on the Ferrari man’s head and he’s certainly worth backing this weekend.
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen
Yes, I know this is getting boring now but you simply cannot bet against a man who has won 83% of this year’s races and has also won the last two races staged at Zandvoort.
