2022 Dutch Grand Prix – Preview
“The new car-tyre package should make overtaking easier this year”
“Zandvoort proved to be a spectacular addition to the calendar last year, and the most challenging parts for tyres are the banked Turns 3 and 14, which are taken at high speed and place sustained combined forces on the car: downforce as well as lateral demands. Along with the other overall demands of the circuit layout, this is why we have nominated the hardest three compounds in the range for only the fourth time in 2022, after Bahrain, Spain and Great Britain. The new car-tyre package this season should make overtaking easier on a track where it was hard to pass last year: the majority of drivers stopped just once to maintain track position, but this time there could be more of a focus on the softer compounds – which might lead to more two-stoppers and drivers pushing even harder.”
THE TYRES ON TRACK
- The three hardest compounds have been chosen for Zandvoort: C1 as the P Zero White hard, C2 as the P Zero Yellow medium, and C3 as the P Zero Red soft.
- This year there’s a bigger gap between the C1 and C2 compounds than there was previously: another reason why teams might concentrate more on the two softer compounds this weekend.
- The banking on Turns 3 and 14 is around 18 degrees: by way of comparison, the historic banking on the old circuit at Monza (up next on the calendar) is roughly 30 degrees on average. Of other modern circuits, Indianapolis has nine degrees of banking and Jeddah has 12 degrees.
- Zandvoort generates some big g forces all around the 4.2-kilometre track: braking into Turns 1 and 11 is a deceleration of about 5g, while Turn 7 also provides lateral forces of around 5g.
- As the name suggests, Zandvoort can be affected by sand blowing onto the surface: the coastal location can also lead to frequent changes in wind direction.
FORMULA 2
The P Zero White hard and P Zero Red soft tyres have been nominated. Each driver has five sets of slick tyres (three hard and two soft) to use across the weekend. The sprint race, lasting 29 laps, takes place on Saturday afternoon ahead of the 40-lap feature race on Sunday morning.
FORMULA 3
Drivers have three new sets of P Zero Yellow medium tyres to use across the weekend, plus another set of mediums carried over from the previous round for use in free practice. A 21-lap sprint race will be held on Saturday morning, followed by a feature race of 26 laps early on Sunday morning.
GT
Round eight of the GT World Challenge, the penultimate race of the Endurance Cup, takes place at Hockenheim in Germany during the same weekend as the Dutch Grand Prix. The GT World Challenge, featuring racing versions of supercars exclusively equipped with Pirelli tyres, last raced at Zandvoort in mid-June.
For further information about the Dutch Grand Prix, click here.