Preview
Zandvoort Preview: Another twist in the title fight?
Our 2023 FIA Formula 2 title contenders will be banking on hitting the ground running after a well-earned summer break as they get reacquainted with the Circuit Zandvoort this weekend.
With only three rounds remaining, it’ll be full steam ahead around one of the field’s favourite venues. Situated right next to the beach, the old-school circuit swoops and flows at high speed, with everyone looking to conquer the famous 18˚ banked Tarzan corner.
Here’s all you need to know ahead of an action-packed Round 12 around the Dutch track.
THE FORM BOOK
It’s all change at the top of the order as Théo Pourchaire’s back-to-back second place finishes in Spa-Francorchamps have elevated the ART Grand Prix driver up into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship once more.
A 26-point haul has put the Frenchman 12 points clear of his nearest rival Frederik Vesti. The Dane endured a disappointing weekend in which the PREMA Racing driver failed to score after crashing out en route to the Feature Race grid.
Another driver who’ll be searching for a huge stack of points this weekend is Ayumu Iwasa. Sitting third on 134 points, the DAMS driver has fallen back from the leading pair and has the fast-charging Jack Doohan closing in behind.
Two consecutive Feature Race victories in Budapest and Spa have transformed Doohan’s season. Only four points away from third and 38 points behind Pourchaire, watch out for the Invicta Virtuosi Racing driver to become an outside title contender. Victor Martins continues to put together an impressive rookie campaign, rounding out the top five on 120.
ART Grand Prix have also reassumed the top spot of the Teams’ Standings on 288, holding a 30-point advantage over PREMA Racing. Securing their first victory of the season and two top four finishes in the Feature Race, Rodin Carlin leapfrogged DAMS into third on 176 points to the French squad’s 173.
FROM THE GRID – Zane Maloney, Rodin Carlin
“I love racing at Zandvoort, one of the most physical tracks on the calendar. It’s a crazy circuit with all the banking, so it’s a really nice track to drive on, especially on a Qualifying lap, but also to race on. It’s difficult, so you really need to do a good job to make any moves.
“To be honest, Turn 1 is really the only place you can make and stick a move quite nicely. Even saying that, there’s a massive bump in Turn 1 when you try to overtake, so it’s still very difficult. I got overtaken on Lap 1 at Turn 1 last year and I overtook them back for the lead in Turn 1 as well, so for me there’s the biggest opportunity.
“Tyre degradation is very difficult. If you’re leading the race, you can manage the pace and it’s a lot easier, but anytime you get behind another car, you really feel it, especially with the front tyres. I remember being behind Victor (Martins) for a lot of the Feature Race and really struggling with my fronts. Then, when he got behind me, his fronts went off as well, so you really have to manage a lot in Zandvoort, probably the second or third most throughout the year.
“The F2 car is a lot bigger, a lot heavier and a bit faster than the F3 car, so for sure there’s going to be some challenging things to learn. I’ve been preparing as much as I can with Rodin Carlin, so hopefully I'm in a good area, I’m sure we are. Zandvoort was probably my best Qualifying lap throughout last season, I think I was on pole by over two and a half tenths, which was really cool. I hope to replicate something like that in the F2 car. Of course, it’s a very difficult circuit to get right on that one Qualifying lap, so a lot of prep is needed. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and hopefully I’m a bit fitter, so my arms don’t hurt as much.”
TECHNICAL PREVIEW
Very much an old-school track when it comes to layout, Zandvoort features plenty of medium to high-speed corners to contend with. While Turns 3 and 14 stand out as the banked corners that demand the most from the tyres, the circuit is easier overall on the Pirelli rubber compared to the most two recent races at Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps.
Downforce demands are high but not the biggest on the F2 calendar, with medium-speed corners making up the majority of the very narrow layout. Fuel consumption shouldn’t be as much of a concern either, nor is braking demand a particularly troublesome feature to watch out for with the biggest stopping zones coming at the end of the DRS straights at Turns 1 and 11.
RACE STRATEGY
The field will have the yellow-walled medium and red-walled soft tyres at their disposal on their return to the Circuit Zandvoort, one step softer than last year’s visit. Felipe Drugovich managed to keep his soft compound tyres in check for 13 laps before making the switch to the hard Pirelli rubber on his way to victory.
Finding some space to put together a clean lap in Qualifying will be a priority given the track’s tight and twisty 14 turns leaving few areas to gamble on an overtake. Additionally, the chance of showers throughout could give the teams a dilemma, weighing up the need for wets over the slicks depending on how quickly the circuit dries.
Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director
“For the Dutch weekend, teams will be able to use P Zero Yellow medium and P Zero Red soft. Zandvoort is a well-established circuit in motorsport history, but this is only the second season (after last year) that the Formula 2 drivers will have raced there. Compared to 2022, there is a change the selected compounds, with Medium now chosen alongside Soft (whereas last year it was Hard). This change should not affect the strategies too much, but it puts an added focus on tyre management. The two high-speed banked corners (Turn 3 and Turn 14) place particular stress on the tyres, due to the extra vertical forces at work.”
STAT PACK
- So far, the field have completed a total of 11,304 racing laps.
- Championship leader Théo Pourchaire currently holds the highest average points per race with 8.4 points.
- With 16 drivers achieving a podium finish this year, the 2023 season has matched the record for the greatest number of different podium finishers in a season, jointly held by the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons.
- With only one previous appearance at Zandvoort, 2022 Champion Felipe Drugovich has led the most laps at the Dutch circuit with 24, on his way to his fourth Feature Race victory of the campaign.