Formula 1 teams didn't dare at Dutch GP: 'Fear was too great'

The Dutch Grand Prix was special for several reasons. Not only did it give Max Verstappen the opportunity to finally race a real home race, but also the teams had to figure out the best strategy for the track during free practice.

However, this was not easy for the teams. As several incidents caused multiple red flags, they were able to collect less data than expected. "Before the race, the strategists warned of unpleasant surprises. Due to the numerous interruptions in the free practice sessions, the engineers lacked important data on tyre wear on the track, which was new to everyone," writes Auto, Motor und Sport.

Double strategy of Mercedes

Due to Sergio Pérez's poor qualifying and Mercedes' second and third starting positions, the German racing team decided to apply two strategies. It had little result on the result in the end, as Verstappen won the race.

"Although on paper the two-stopper was ultimately the faster option, most teams decided to pit only once. The fear of falling back into traffic on the less overtaking-friendly circuit and not being able to take advantage of fresh tyres was too great. The lap time needed to attack was 1,2 seconds at Zandvoort. However, in the final sprint, some drivers showed that it was possible to change places with fresher rubber."