George Russell was in a strong position early in the Dutch Grand Prix. He got ahead of Oscar Piastri at the start and held on to third place throughout the first stint.
Mercedes won three of the four races leading into the Dutch Grand Prix, so at this stage in proceedings it seemed a podium place was on the cards for Russell. So why did he slump to seventh at the finish, one place ahead of his team mate, who started down in 14th?His first pit stop was on the slow side. He also pitted a lap after Charles Leclerc, losing a place to the Ferrari driver as a result. But his race really began to go awry after that.
Having held Piastri off through the first stint, when the McLaren driver appeared in his mirrors with eight-lap fresher tyres, Russell never looked like holding him back. He languished off the pace of the other front-runners at this stage, but cut the deficit after lap 43.
Russell never regained the places he lost to Sainz and Perez at this point, so was the pit stop a mistake? Further ahead, Piastri caught Leclerc quickly but was unable to attack him, so could Russell have run to the end on his hard tyres and held off Sainz?
Mercedes said Russell was losing so much pace they had to pit him a second time. “Today we were lacking the speed to fight for much more than we achieved,” said the team’s trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
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“We were not generating good grip and, consequently, were sliding around on the tyre. That led to higher degradation than our competitors and forced us into a two-stop race.”
Mercedes had nothing to lose by bringing Hamilton in again for a set of soft tyres as he had enough of a gap behind him to hold onto his position when he pitted. However he believed a one-stop could have been possible had he not made a mistake.
“I had a small lock-up on my hard tyre, which made doing a one-stop not really viable,” he told Viaplay. “If I hadn’t had that, maybe I could have eked out that one-stop and maybe finish one place ahead. But I don’t think it would have made a big difference.”
Hamilton’s pace in his third stint was strong, having the benefit of a second fresh set of soft tyres. Russell switched to a used set and didn’t have the pace to close the drivers who passed him. Hamilton, meanwhile, was quick enough to make a serious bid for the fastest lap of the race.
After several strong performances, Mercedes found it hard to get their cars consistently in the sweet spot at Zandvoort. Russell seemed happier with his car in qualifying while Hamilton’s race pace was better. The upshot was the pair converged on seventh and eighth, positions which were well below par for them in recent races.
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However it’s possible both might have done better with single-stop strategies. Adding to the team’s frustration, Hamilton lost the fastest lap to Norris after being asked if he needed to push again to improve his time, was told he didn’t, only for the McLaren driver to pip his effort on the final lap.
2024 Dutch Grand Prix lap chart
The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
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2024 Dutch Grand Prix race chart
The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
2024 Dutch Grand Prix lap times
All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:
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2024 Dutch Grand Prix fastest laps
Each driver’s fastest lap:
| Rank | # | Driver | Car | Lap time | Gap | Avg. speed (kph) | Lap no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’13.817 | 207.71 | 72 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’13.878 | 0.061 | 207.54 | 62 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’13.927 | 0.110 | 207.4 | 57 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’14.117 | 0.300 | 206.87 | 40 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’14.237 | 0.420 | 206.53 | 36 |
| 6 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’14.434 | 0.617 | 205.99 | 71 |
| 7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’14.585 | 0.768 | 205.57 | 62 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’14.587 | 0.770 | 205.56 | 69 |
| 9 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’14.752 | 0.935 | 205.11 | 30 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’14.758 | 0.941 | 205.09 | 34 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1’14.855 | 1.038 | 204.83 | 54 |
| 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’14.954 | 1.137 | 204.56 | 42 |
| 13 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB-Honda RBPT | 1’15.222 | 1.405 | 203.83 | 52 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’15.255 | 1.438 | 203.74 | 51 |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1’15.390 | 1.573 | 203.37 | 50 |
| 16 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 1’15.539 | 1.722 | 202.97 | 26 |
| 17 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 1’15.552 | 1.735 | 202.94 | 16 |
| 18 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1’15.657 | 1.840 | 202.66 | 59 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’15.724 | 1.907 | 202.48 | 67 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’15.822 | 2.005 | 202.22 | 45 |
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2024 Dutch Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
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2024 Dutch Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
| Rank | # | Driver | Team | Complete stop time (s) | Gap to best (s) | Stop no. | Lap no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 20.785 | 1 | 27 | |
| 2 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 20.84 | 0.055 | 1 | 30 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 20.841 | 0.056 | 1 | 24 |
| 4 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 20.88 | 0.095 | 2 | 32 |
| 5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 20.942 | 0.157 | 1 | 29 |
| 6 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 20.969 | 0.184 | 1 | 33 |
| 7 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 21.015 | 0.23 | 1 | 30 |
| 8 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 21.016 | 0.231 | 2 | 54 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 21.026 | 0.241 | 2 | 48 |
| 10 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 21.095 | 0.31 | 1 | 15 |
| 11 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 21.159 | 0.374 | 2 | 54 |
| 12 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 21.168 | 0.383 | 1 | 23 |
| 13 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 21.214 | 0.429 | 1 | 18 |
| 14 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 21.249 | 0.464 | 1 | 14 |
| 15 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 21.258 | 0.473 | 1 | 12 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 21.273 | 0.488 | 2 | 43 |
| 17 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 21.348 | 0.563 | 1 | 31 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 21.385 | 0.6 | 1 | 30 |
| 19 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 21.403 | 0.618 | 1 | 40 |
| 20 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 21.536 | 0.751 | 1 | 28 |
| 21 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 21.619 | 0.834 | 1 | 14 |
| 22 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 21.846 | 1.061 | 1 | 25 |
| 23 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 22.03 | 1.245 | 1 | 22 |
| 24 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 22.044 | 1.259 | 2 | 51 |
| 25 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 22.646 | 1.861 | 1 | 32 |
| 26 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 22.934 | 2.149 | 1 | 29 |
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2024 Dutch Grand Prix
- Previous technical hires no obstacle to Newey joining Aston Martin – Krack
- Mercedes still unsure whether Spa floor upgrade is working
- McLaren’s Dutch GP upgrade “nowhere near” as significant as Miami package
- “Very hard to pinpoint” why car has become harder to drive – Verstappen
- Only one F1 driver is making worse starts than Norris in 2024
DaveW (@dmw)
25th August 2024, 22:30
I would say Hamilton had a surprisingly good race. He was passing cars and carrying a strong pace while keeping the tires fresh in the first and last stints. The cause of the poor race was Hamilton’s Q3 result.
Dale
26th August 2024, 0:39
Or is the real question … “did unusual conditions and events flatter Mercedes in recent races??
… from Max & Norris colliding, to unusually hot events that seem to help their car / hinder others, and intermittent rain interrupted races with some simple mistakes by stronger cars.
Even this weekend, during the interchangeable conditions, they looked stronger than in the dry race.
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th August 2024, 1:18
Yes Mercedes were flattered before the break but mainly by Mclarens failures to extract the best each weekend.
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th August 2024, 1:17
I think the answer was very simple, had they left Russell out a few more laps he’d have been behind Hamilton such was the pace difference that if he then had to stop he would have been behind. I’m pretty sure they pitted Russell to guarantee he wouldn’t finish behind Hamilton who might have had the pace to catch and pass him if he stuck to the hard tyres. Seemed a pretty classic case of Russell’s side of the garage panicked when they saw Hamilton reeling him in. Would have been even more embarrassing to be overtaken by a teammate who started the race 10 places behind you. Russell was awful in the race.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
26th August 2024, 1:31
Put team had been doing great for a few races but had that mid 3 second stop which hurt RUS. But what hurts RUS most is that he just abuses the tires causing extra stops and his DQ last race.
SteveP
26th August 2024, 7:52
Yes.
Race after race, my comment is, “how long before he burns out the tyres?”
Not if, but when.
If he can master that, he has a rosy future. If not, he’ll probably be #2 by the end of 2025.
MacLeod (@macleod)
26th August 2024, 7:56
@jimfromus I think it’s setup ruined the tyres as the cars where eating those. (So a extra pitstop was needed) mid 3 seconds stops are not handy when the other teams are 1 seconds faster that could be just miss their target coming out the pits.
AlanD
27th August 2024, 12:32
Interesting point. I wonder, would Russell be using a setup which gives more grip in the short term at the expense of burning out the tyres quicker, meaning he is looking better in qualifying at the expense of race pace?