After winning in Belgium last weekend, Max Verstappen will look to claim his fourth consecutive race victory in front of his home fans on Sunday.
Verstappen heads into the Dutch Grand Prix with a commanding 93-point lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in the Drivers' Standings.
Race preview
Formula 1 returned from the summer break for last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, and despite starting from 15th position due to a grid penalty, Verstappen came through the field to win his ninth race of the season.
Verstappen's nearest Championship challenger before the race was Charles Leclerc, who also had a penalty forcing the Ferrari driver to start from 16th place.
However, after being forced to pit early, Leclerc could only climb up to sixth spot, allowing Perez to pass him in the Drivers' Championship after the Mexican finished in second position.
Due to the number of penalties, Carlos Sainz began the race from pole position, but after being unable to fend off the Red Bulls, the Spaniard had to settle for third position.
While Ferrari will be looking to end a spell of three races without a win, current constructor champions Mercedes are still searching for their first victory of the season.
Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to bounce back after a first lap collision with Fernando Alonso ended his race early in Belgium.
The seven-time world champion took responsibility for the incident, which ended a run of five consecutive podium finishes.
Hamilton's teammate George Russell has finished in the top five in all races that he has completed this season, and the British driver will hope to keep that record intact this weekend.
Meanwhile, McLaren announced that Oscar Piastri will replace Daniel Ricciardo in their driver lineup from next year, and they are targeting an improvement this weekend following a disappointing Sunday in Belgium that saw Lando Norris and Ricciardo finish outside the points.
Alpine will be looking to remain in fourth place after they leapfrogged McLaren in the constructors championship following a successful Belgian Grand Prix where Alonso finished fifth and Esteban Ocon claimed seventh position.
Track Guide
After driving on the long straights of Spa-Francorchamps, Formula 1 heads to the narrow Zandvoort circuit where overtaking can prove to be difficult.
The track contains 14 corners on a twisty circuit that also features a number of banked sections, including the 18 degrees banking of turn three.
While overtaking may be tricky, the long pit straight offers an opportunity to make a pass as one of the circuits' two DRS zones.
The other portion of the track where drivers will be able to use their DRS in the race is situated from turns 12 to 13.
After leaving the calendar in 1985, the Dutch Grand Prix returned last year in a race where the home favourite Verstappen cruised to victory.
As well as Verstappen, Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have won the Masters of Formula 3 event which used to take place annually at Zandvoort.
Perez will be looking for a better outing at Zandvoort after finishing in eighth place last year, while Leclerc and Sainz could only manage fifth and seventh place in the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix.
Zhou Guanyu and Kevin Magnussen were not involved in last year's World Championship, and as a result, they will participate in their first-ever Dutch Grand Prix this weekend.
Driver Standings
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 284
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) - 191
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 186
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 171
5. George Russell (Mercedes) - 170
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 146
7. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 76
8. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) - 64
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) - 51
10. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) - 46
11. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - 22
12. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) - 20
13. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) - 19
14. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) - 18
15. Mick Schumacher (Haas) - 12
16. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) - 11
17. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) - 5
18. Alexander Albon (Williams) - 4
19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 4
20. Nicholas Latifi (Williams) - 0
21. Nico Hulkenberg (Aston Martin) - 0
Constructor Standings
1. Red Bull - 475
2. Ferrari - 357
3. Mercedes - 316
4. Alpine - 115
5. McLaren - 95
6. Alfa Romeo - 51
7. Haas - 34
8. AlphaTauri - 29
9. Aston Martin - 24
10. Williams - 4
We say: Max Verstappen to win
Although Ferrari and Mercedes are expected to be closer to Red Bull in terms of pace at Zandvoort than they were in Belgium, we think that Verstappen will still manage to finish ahead of the rest of the field to win in front of his home fans.
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