FROM THE ENCOUNTER TO ZANDVOORT
On August 25, 1985, Lauda, Prost, Senna, Mansell and Piquet were among others on the track in Zandvoort. Lauda that day won his last Grand Prix ahead of Prost, who will then win his first career title. In the evening the gates of the Dutch circuit closed for Formula 1, and it would have been forever without the birth of a phenomenon like Max Verstappen. The doors will reopen today for free practice for the new Dutch GP, one year behind schedule. Were it not for Covid, the organizers were already ready in 2020. The race was canceled because running behind closed doors made the sense of the narrative disappear: without the orange tide of Max’s fans it made no sense to start the engines.
Destiny has seen us long: Verstappen comes to the party in full fight for the title, just three points behind Hamilton. Yesterday the gates were opened to the public and scenes of celebration, traffic and confusion were seen that truly recalled the Formula 1 of the 70s and 80s. the two pilots are sharp and the orange wave is ready to remark it. Hamilton expects to be booed for the third consecutive time following his Silverstone crash a month and a half ago. It happened in Hungary and especially in Belgium last week. “I’m not the type who would go to a sporting event to whistle one of the protagonists, but I can understand and respect everyone. You also see it in football: there is the passion of those who applaud their team and someone’s contempt for their opponents. Luckily my fans don’t boo ”, is the thought of the seven-time world champion. Verstappen makes no particular attempts to ease the tension and invites his colleague to “shut his ears” in the face of the inevitable manifestations of dissent. And when asked if he will ask his supporters for fair play, the flying Dutchman replies spades: «We have never seen a team inviting supporters not to whistle, so sooner or later it happens. It is part of sport ». In the grandstand there are 70 thousand seats available on a capacity of 105 thousand. A full house is expected for Sunday, tomorrow there will be at least 50 thousand fans.
The circuit has undergone some changes for safety and for the show. The last corner has become a parabolic to go with the accelerator pressed, stuff that at the time of Lauda & C. would have been impossible, but without increasing the danger, on the contrary: the inclination of 17 degrees decreases the lateral acceleration on the single-seaters, which by regulation it must not exceed the acceleration of gravity by two and a half times. The 4259-meter track is the shortest after Montecarlo. «It reminds me of a street circuit, every mistake can cost you dearly. It will be fun in qualifying », explains Leclerc after a reconnaissance on foot. According to Verstappen “it is an old-fashioned track, reminiscent of the driving sensations of Suzuka”. Overtaking? They will be with the dropper, but still better than last Sunday in Spa. –
© breaking latest news