# 2021 Dutch Grand Prix

The 2021 Dutch Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2021) was a Formula One motor race held on 5 September 2021 at Circuit Zandvoort. It was the thirteenth round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship and the first Dutch Grand Prix to take place since 1985. The race was won by Max Verstappen – prior to him, no Dutch driver had won their home race.

## Background

The event, which was held over the weekend of 3–5 September at Circuit Zandvoort, was the thirteenth round of the 2021 World Championship. The race took place one week after the Belgian Grand Prix and precedes the Italian Grand Prix. The race was also championship contender, Max Verstappen's home Grand Prix.

### Track layout

The circuit has a total length of 4.259 kilometres (2.646 mi), consisting of 14 corners and two DRS zones. As one of the shorter tracks on the Formula One calendar, the drivers complete 72 laps resulting in a total race distance of 306.587 kilometres (190.504 mi). The track was changed to upgrade it to FIA Grade 1 specifications and was a different layout compared to when F1 last raced in 1985.

### Championship standings before the race

After the Belgian Grand Prix handed out half-points due to heavy rainfall, Lewis Hamilton's championship lead was reduced to just three points to Verstappen in second. For the second race in a row, Lando Norris, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez all scored no points, meaning they stayed third, fourth and fifth respectively. Mercedes also led the Constructors' Championship by 7 points to Red Bull. McLaren regained third place after Daniel Ricciardo scored six points. Ferrari trailed McLaren by 3.5 points and Alpine sat in fifth place.

### Entrants

The drivers and teams were initially the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.
Before the third practice session, Alfa Romeo Racing driver Kimi Räikkönen tested positive for coronavirus. He was replaced by the reserve driver Robert Kubica, who last raced at the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, driving for Williams.
Williams team principal Jost Capito also had to go into isolation following a dinner with Räikkönen the night before.

### Tyre choices

Sole tyre supplier Pirelli allocated the C1, C2, and C3 compounds of tyre to be used in the race.

## Practice

Free practice 1 took place at 11:30 CEST on 3 September, while free practice 2 took place at 15:00 CEST on the same day. Free practice 3 took place at 12:00 CEST on 4 September. All three practice sessions lasted for one hour.
The first session ended with Lewis Hamilton fastest for Mercedes ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. The session was red flagged for 35 minutes after an engine failure of Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel.
The second session ended with Charles Leclerc fastest for Ferrari ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alpine's Esteban Ocon. The session was red flagged for nine minutes after a loss of power for Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. The session was also red flagged for Haas's Nikita Mazepin after he spun into a gravel trap. Verstappen was investigated by the stewards for overtaking another driver during the first red flag period of the session, though the stewards ultimately decided a penalty was not necessary.

## Qualifying

Qualifying took place at 15:00 CEST on 4 September.

### Qualifying classification

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Qualifying times | Qualifying times | Qualifying times | Final grid |
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Final grid |
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda | 1:10.036 | 1:09.071 | 1:08.885 | 1 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:10.114 | 1:09.976 | 1:08.923 | 2 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:10.219 | 1:09.769 | 1:09.222 | 3 |
| 4 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1:10.274 | 1:09.541 | 1:09.478 | 4 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:09.829 | 1:09.437 | 1:09.527 | 5 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:10.022 | 1:09.870 | 1:09.537 | 6 |
| 7 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari | 1:10.050 | 1:10.033 | 1:09.590 | 7 |
| 8 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1:10.179 | 1:09.919 | 1:09.933 | 8 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine-Renault | 1:10.435 | 1:10.020 | 1:09.956 | 9 |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:10.255 | 1:09.865 | 1:10.166 | 10 |
| 11 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1:10.382 | 1:10.332 | N/A | 11 |
| 12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1:10.438 | 1:10.367 | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:10.489 | 1:10.406 | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1:10.093 | 1:11.161 | N/A | PL |
| 15 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1:10.462 | 1:11.314 | N/A | 14 |
| 16 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda | 1:10.530 | N/A | N/A | PL |
| 17 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1:10.731 | N/A | N/A | 15 |
| 18 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari | 1:11.301 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| 19 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas-Ferrari | 1:11.387 | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| 20 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas-Ferrari | 1:11.875 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| 107% time: 1:14.717 ||||||||
| Source: ||||||||
* ^1 – Nicholas Latifi received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. He was then required to start the race from the pit lane for a front wing change and nose assembly in parc fermé.
* ^2 – Sergio Pérez was required to start the race from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements. He was then required to start the race from the pit lane for a new energy store specification.

## Race

The race started at 15:00 CEST on 5 September.

### Race classification

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda | 72 | 1:30:05.395 | 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 72 | +20.932 | 2 | 19 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 72 | +56.460 | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 71 | +1 lap | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 71 | +1 lap | 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine-Renault | 71 | +1 lap | 9 | 8 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 71 | +1 lap | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Racing-Honda | 71 | +1 lap | PL | 4 |
| 9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 71 | +1 lap | 8 | 2 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 71 | +1 lap | 13 | 1 |
| 11 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren-Mercedes | 71 | +1 lap | 10 | |
| 12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 70 | +2 laps | 12 | |
| 13 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 70 | +2 laps | 15 | |
| 14 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari | 70 | +2 laps | 7 | |
| 15 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari | 70 | +2 laps | 16 | |
| 16 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 70 | +2 laps | PL | |
| 17 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 69 | Battery | 11 | |
| 18 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas-Ferrari | 69 | +3 laps | 17 | |
| Ret | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda | 48 | Engine | 14 | |
| Ret | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas-Ferrari | 41 | Water leak | 18 | |
| Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1:11.097 (lap 72) ||||||||
| Source: ||||||||

#### Notes

* ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.
* ^2 – George Russell was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

## Championship standings after the race

| | Pos. | Driver | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | 224.5 |
| 1 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | 221.5 |
| 1 | 3 | Valtteri Bottas | 123 |
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | 114 |
| | 5 | Sergio Pérez | 108 |
| Source: ||||
| | Pos. | Constructor | Points |
| | 1 | Mercedes | 344.5 |
| | 2 | Red Bull Racing-Honda | 332.5 |
| 1 | 3 | Ferrari | 181.5 |
| 1 | 4 | McLaren-Mercedes | 170 |
| | 5 | Alpine-Renault | 90 |
| Source: ||||
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.