Wolff: ‘Total idiots’ throwing flares could kill someone
Qualifying yesterday was sadly marred by two flare incidents at a jam-packed Circuit Zandvoort, one thrown onto the track that caused a six-minute red flag at the beginning of Q2.
Another was thrown at the start of Q3, but thankfully it rolled off safely and only led to a quicker yellow flag.
Such behaviour was widely denounced by the drivers, with Verstappen and Leclerc both slamming it as “stupid” and “dangerous”.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff warned that a driver could be killed if it isn’t stamped out.
“It’s a shame there are a few total idiots out there who don’t consider what a flare can do to a driver,” he said. “If such a can hits you, it can have lethal consequences. The halo wouldn’t help you in that.
“We looked at the camera angles and Lewis was going through the pit lane. I don’t know if somebody threw it at him, but it happened before he actually was at that point. I hope the organisers have a grip on it.”
Hopefully we’ll have no such incidents this afternoon.
Hamilton happy Mercedes is ‘feeling alive’
Despite Verstappen’s overall dominance and the difficulty overtaking at the Circuit Zandvoort, the competitiveness of the three leading teams should at least give some hope of an exciting race today.
Lewis Hamilton could have snatched pole himself yesterday, were he and Mercedes team-mate George Russell not denied their final runs in Q3 as a result of the yellow flags waved after Sergio Perez’s spin that left Checo down in fifth.
The seven-time world champion is P4 today ahead of Perez and will be eyeing a podium finish, with Russell P6 after a bit of a frustrating Saturday.
Could Lewis take advantage of the Ferraris battling away with Verstappen and no Perez as protection?
“I generally feel good,” Hamilton said. “I’m really happy that the car has finally felt alive this weekend. And… only being a tenth behind a Red Bull was a great feeling and really gave me a lot of hope that I could fight for the front row, but then obviously the yellow flag at the end was a bit unfortunate, but that’s motor racing.
“We’ve closed the gap somehow on [a single] lap. I can’t really understand why but anyways. But I am hoping that that means we are closer and even closer in the race and if we are that would be fantastic. If we can fight these guys and have a battle with these three ahead of me, that would be an amazing experience.”
Leclerc and Sainz work together in bid to beat Verstappen
So Charles Leclerc is second on the grid this afternoon after another frustrating weekend for Ferrari at Spa in which he recovered from more issues to finish fifth, only to be demoted another place for speeding in the pit lane.
Slipping to third behind Sergio Perez in the standings has to be so galling for the Monegasque driver given his start to the season and the apparent promise of another thrilling title race.
Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two in practice on Friday and was then pipped by Verstappen to pole by just two hundredths of a second yesterday.
The oft-criticised Scuderia could implement split strategies in today’s race, with Leclerc and Carlos Sainz working together to try and foil the champion.
“It’s a track where it’s very difficult to overtake,” said Leclerc.
“I hope that we will be as close as we were today, and hopefully we can play a little bit with Carlos and I to put Max under pressure.”
Can anyone stop Max Verstappen?
So as with most Formula One races these days, the big question today is how to stop a certain Max Verstappen.
The weekend did not begin well for Red Bull’s reigning world champion, who was hampered in practice on Friday by gearbox issues with his RB18.
However, he quickly shrugged off those problems to pip Charles Leclerc to pole by 0.021s with a brilliant final lap in an eventful qualifying session yesterday.
It is the 17th pole of Verstappen’s career as he searches for his 10th win in 15 races this season, with more than 100,000 adoring Orange Army fanatics packed into the grandstands across the weekend.
The 24-year-old, who easily breezed through the field from 14th to win in Belgium last time out, is already 93 points clear of nearest rival and team-mate Sergio Perez in the drivers’ standings with only eight races left in 2022, while Charles Leclerc is a further five back after another afternoon to forget at Spa.
Verstappen’s first F1 title defence is becoming an absolute procession in a year that we were promised much more competitive racing.
Weather update
We’re in for a cloudy and overcast afternoon in the dunes north of the northern Dutch beach resort of Zandvoort.
It is expected to be fairly cloudy all day, with the occasional bright spell breaking through.
The chance of rain was listed at around 20 per cent, so we’ll see if it threatens to make an appearance at any point during the course of the race.
How to watch Dutch Grand Prix
TV channel: In the UK, today’s race will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports F1.
Coverage of Grand Prix Sunday starts at 12:30pm, with the race programme beginning at 1:55pm.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the action live online via the SkyGo app.
Welcome to Dutch Grand Prix LIVE coverage!
Hello and a very warm welcome to the Evening Standard’s LIVE coverage of the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix.
The Circuit Zandvoort is sold out as Max Verstappen sits on pole for his first home GP as champion, looking to take another huge step towards a successful title defence.
It’s lights out at 2pm BST. Stick with us for all the build-up and live race updates.
