Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Zandvoort, 2021

Rate the race: 2021 Dutch Grand Prix

2021 Dutch Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Dutch Grand Prix.

RaceFans has held polls on every F1 race since 2008 to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.

Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2021 Dutch Grand Prix out of 10

  • 10 (6%)
  • 9 (6%)
  • 8 (16%)
  • 7 (25%)
  • 6 (21%)
  • 5 (11%)
  • 4 (5%)
  • 3 (4%)
  • 2 (3%)
  • 1 (2%)

Total Voters: 280

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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104 comments on “Rate the race: 2021 Dutch Grand Prix”

  1. At least it was slightly better than Spa.

    1. I disagree. In Spa there was still the hope we’d see a race. Today was a procession at best. Remove the commentary and graphics and that looked like a practice session.

      1. Really? There was never a chance of a ‘race’ at Spa with that weather and the time available.

  2. And for a second weekend in a row, F1 brought us no race – just car going around.

    1. Perez enters the room.

    2. You must have been looking away when Perez battled through the field. And when Alonso hounded, cought and then passed Sainz short before the end.

      Not to mention that even Verstappen in the lead had to make a pass to win, be it with a massive tyre advantage at that point of time.

    3. It was better than the average race, all one can ask until the rules change. Cars were great to watch, whenever the camera calmed down. Tv coverage missed the overtakes on the last couple laps.

      1. Yes, coverage was terrible like always, often having to watch stuff in the replay cause they broadcast drivers not even fighting for place.

  3. RandomMallard (@)
    5th September 2021, 15:37

    Wasn’t great, wasn’t awful, wasn’t Spa 2021.

    5/10 or 6/10 for me

    1. I can see “at least it wasn’t Spa” becoming a social norm.

      1. Which is a shame cause it could’ve been a great race with that rain, and it’s normally good even without rain.

  4. An OK race. Pretty much what I expected.

  5. Beautiful circuit… For qualy laps!

  6. Boring. And those flairs are ridiculous

    1. Sorry accidentaly report

    2. They need to get serious about banning those, but I’m not sure what kind of crowd control enforcement they have at the track. They should result in ejection and a lifetime attendance ban from F1 races.

  7. Was ok, maybe slightly above average. Biggest challenge for the guys at the front was just navigating the backmarkers so many times.

    1. True, so many lapped cars, only mercedes (and vers) not lapped and I think from 12th place they were 2 laps down and the last one, schumacher, 3 laps down.

  8. A 5.5(voted for 5).

    Wasn’t that spectacular overtaking wise (as expected) but at least we had some battles at the end(Alpine-Mclaren-Sainz-Perez).

  9. I’ve said it before, but it’s time to drop that fastest lap point. Gives nothing to the race… nothing at all.

    They said they were going to revise it if it didn’t work, and it never did as they intended… just a consolation prize for the losers because the pack is never close enough… there’s always a gap someone can exploit and easily snatch fastest lap without even trying…

    1. I think it shouldn’t count for the last 5 laps. Not ideal but it would cut down on second and third pitting to get it.

      1. @glynh Then they would just pit 5 laps earlier.

    2. @fer-no65 I agree.

      When it’s more about who has the gap to pit with a few laps left or when teams play games with it to take points off rivals (As Red Bull did with Perez in Silverstone) it’s just not deserving of an extra point.

    3. Agreed. Bottas being told to slow down during his fast lap so that Hamilton can grab it leaves a stinky aftersmell. That’s the only contribution of that stupid rule to the race.

      1. The thing that they pitted Bottas to avoid Hamilton having to drop behind him is also somewhat awkward.

        1. Well, remember hamilton already had the fastest lap, he didn’t have to pit again, except bottas made fastest lap, imo it was unnecessary to pit either.

    4. @fer-no65 yes and it is ridiculous.

    5. @fer-no65 Totally. It’s bordering on farce. Just whoever gets lucky with the gap can decide the championship.

      1. Extremely unlucky the championship gets decided by 1 or 2 fastest laps and also not always the same driver gets the gap for fastest lap, can also benefit the other driver.

      2. Unlikely*

  10. 10/10. What a race.

    Drivers pushing hard all race. A punishing circuit. Tense. Strategic. Drivers batting hard for overtakes. Awesome. Old school. Loved it.

    1. And of course the atmosphere. And Max winning at home. Mega.

    2. I wouldn’t give it a 10, but I absolutely love this circuit.

      I don’t understand the low points. There might not have been many overtakes, but at least those weren’t the stock standard DRS moves.

      1. Well said jfff, I ended up going for 8/10; perhaps a bit inflated due to atmosphere, but it was a lot better than I thought. Not just Perez coming from the back and overtaking either, Latifi’s moves early on were nice and we saw some others that were decent too; just not at the front, but at least there it was tense. And the track looks great, enjoy it a-la Suzuka (yeah guess no accident that).

      2. Completely agree. They really had to work for their overtakes! Pity the director missed quite a few of them.

      3. Yeah, that goes for me as well.

        Sure, it wasn’t the most thrilling race ever, Verstappen never looked likely to not win. On the other hand, Mercedes did try what they could to give Hamilton a chance and they made Verstappen have to work for that win.

        And we got some really nice racing with Perez fighting through the field, we got nice fights in the backfield with Giovanazzi, Kubica, Latifi and Vettel. We got Alonso hunting down Sainz in the end and pass him as well. And the flowing track and the atmosphere were really what F1 needs.

    3. I like your sarcasm.

  11. Boring race. 4/10.

    “He’s just getting lucky with the traffic”
    ~Sir Lewis on Max.

    Perhaps we should start measuring luck…maybe start with Silverstone and that ‘racing incident’..

    1. Get this bloke a box of Kleenex

      1. I didn’t think it was THAT exciting!

    2. Getting so old of listening to lewis whine if he is not in lead. Loved Max asking what Lewis is complaining about today. Just keep head down and drives. He says he wants competition til he has it, then nothing but whine whine whine. Sad for a champion.

      1. Ahah, damn, I missed that team radio, I need to find it!

        1. When informed that the gap back to Lewis had increased to over 3 seconds, Max asked if Lewis was complaining about something that would explain it. He didn’t ask “what is he complaining about today?”. Lewis wasn’t complaining about not being in the lead, he was commenting on the strategy not playing out the way the team had hoped.

  12. Spectacular track, great atmospheric and the cars looked amazing. Shame about the lack of overtakes but at least there was no room for error and the strategy kept it interesting. 7

  13. The effect the backmarkers were allowed to have was ridiculous. Ruined it as an experience. More in general, a lot of tension, like Paul Ricard, a lot of action, albeit mainly based on tyre offset… it’s a 6.5 or so.

  14. 2. Dull, as expected from this circuit.

    Even F3 struggled to be particularly interesting here…

    1. Out of interest (not criticising), when was the last time you gave a race a good score?

      1. Do you remember if he normally gives bad scores? Don’t remember one with that name before but I don’t pay attention to names.

      2. @f1frog Hockenheim 2019. Probably the most fascinating and complete since – I don’t know…. 2011 or 2012?
        It’s rare that F1 exceeds my expectations, which are pretty low. But hey, we can’t all be ‘fans’ and give it a high score even when it sucks, just because we like it in general

  15. 5. A little Verstappen-Hamilton tactical battle, few beautiful overtake and the last 20 lap was a little bit entertaining.

    1. Wow, seems a low score for that comment, if I took that comment alone I’d expect 6-7.

  16. I rated it 7/10 as I enjoyed it.

    It’s a great track that’s spectacular & fun to watch cars driving around & we saw some good battles & a few good overtakes a lot of which needed to be worked for which is how overtaking should be.

  17. What race?
    I’m happy to admit I was wrong about the red flags. No-one went for anything daring because of lack of room on track, just drove it home. How exiting.

    1. Was surprised too about the lack of SC.

  18. Bit like this year’s Le mans, you knew who was gonna win after turn 2…

    1. Disagree, was always on edge fearing mechanical problems, and also mistakes can always happen, surely when the wall is so close, and even talking performance wise a mercedes driven by hamilton was up there most race.

  19. Gets a seven from me. Tension at the front, impressive overtaking in the midfield, and an awesome track in Zandvoort.

  20. It wasn’t a classic but it was alright. Even less respect for Mercedes than I had before between ordering Bottas not to go for the fastest lap and Hamilton’s consistent complaining.

    1. Well, it was pretty predictable, wasn’t it? Seemed silly to have them steal bonus point from hamilton, I was excited when bottas got fastest lap, thought it was an act of rebellion! Also predictable they’d try to hold up verstappen with him.

  21. 7/10 would be a good score. With low fuel, soft compounds, this is a good lap it seems for the drivers. There were a mix of strategies, but in Red Bull had the pace this weekend. Its a shame that one car starts the race from the lead and the other from pit lane. Was surprised that Ferrari did not split the strategy. In the end deservedly lost sixth place. Ricciardo is now well and truly the second driver in Mclaren at least this season. Feel bad for Gasly..he is doing all the good work that Red Bull needs, just not in the right Red Bull car.
    As regards the track, it was well summed up by Hamilton – low fuel, soft compound and its a great experience over one lap. Would have been good if Bottas had gone for a purple sector.

    1. Absolutely a shame for perez quali, yes, reminds of monaco 2018, with the best car starting first and last and the last car recovering, I think perez’s recovery on such a track confirms how good red bull was here.

    2. However, ricciardo NOW is the 2nd driver? He got demolished by norris all season, he finally was not long behind him, I would say he was already the 2nd driver.

    3. And yes, gasly probably deserves a few races-trial in a red bull, however in a season like this if he isn’t up to speed immediately it’s a risk.

  22. Gets a 9 from me as I have really enjoyed getting to watch F1 cars on a proper race track again that actually tests driver skill, rewards bravery & punishes mistakes. No seas tarmac runoffs, Proper kerbing, Tight & tricky to get right where mistakes had consequences & track limits were never an issue.

    And in terms of the racing we didn’t see any of the boringly easy push of a button highway passes we have to suffer through elsewhere & while we didn’t see loads of overtaking we did see some & it was all actually exciting to watch because drivers had to work for it & it was more about car position than pushing buttons to open silly gimmick wing letterbox flaps.

    All 3 tire compounds were viable, Degredation wasn’t too big so we actually saw some hard racing with drivers able to push & different strategies been possible rather than everyone doing the same thing as we see elsewhere where only 1 compound is really viable & where artificial degredation pushes everyone in the same direction.

    I would much rather watch F1 race at circuits like this than a lot of the more modern circuits that are a mile wide with seas of tarmac runoff & kerbs which create constant talk of track limits & which don’t challenge or punish the drivers. I’d much rather watch races on circuits like this where overtaking has to be worked for rather than just done at the push of a button easily down the straights. I’d much rather quality over quantity & today that is what I feel we had.

    Today felt like a proper F1 motor race on a proper racing track & for me this is the direction F1 needs to go in with it’s circuits!

    Racing here is for once something I applaud Liberty for doing!!!

    1. @roger-ayles

      Racing here is for once something I applaud Liberty for doing!!!

      Well, that’s a breakthrough.

    2. This, except that I would go 8 rather than 9.

    3. This, except that I would go 8 rather than 9.

  23. It was OK. I love how old school the track looks. Hopefully ground effect can improve overtaking next year.

  24. Dutchguy (@justarandomdutchguy)
    5th September 2021, 16:25

    Not the most exciting race, but there was some tension 2/3s of the way through and some overtakes around the outside in turn 1. The start was pretty nice to watch. I’d give it a 6.5 if I could.

    At least they actually raced.

  25. A great track, for karting.
    Not for racecars for adults.

    1. Which tracks would you describe as for adults? I would say that if anything, this track is more ‘for adults’ because it punishes mistakes more harshly than most.

      1. Tracks that suits an F1 car. Tracks with a layout suitable for overtaking.
        For the “punishes mistakes”-part, I totally agree.
        Things will hopefully change for next year, but this race falls into the same category as Monaco. They were great 50 years ago, but not suitable today.

  26. I like Zandvoort and have hoped to see it back on the schedule. It’s fast, twisty, has some history, and a great pedigree as far as track design goes. Tilke really should be studying Hugenholtz more, he seemed to have a knack for interesting circuit design.

    I didn’t expect wheel to wheel racing because of the aero regs, but we may see more of that next year if Zandvoort stays on the calendar. I still enjoyed the race. Max was superlative from the start. Beating Lewis to the first corner is no easy thing to do, even if you’re in a faster car. I knew it was over when Lewis couldn’t close the gap to Max before Max got the hard tires warmed up and switched on. It was a tense couple of laps though before Max’s tires came into their own. The excitement of the home crowd made it special, too. 8/10

  27. Interesting addition to the race tracks. Very unforgiving driver circuit. Even passes on own merit without Drs. Perez, Norris was a nice example of driving on the limit.
    Redbull able to fight two different (bad) strategies, and a vet embarrassing “valteri, this is james” call.
    All in all a 8.

    And a truly great and very fair public!

    1. Ahah, I think bottas should’ve pushed for fastest lap (he’s about to be replaced after all), kept it and then “james, it’s valtteri!”.

  28. Solid 6 for me being better than average (5). Crowd and track were really cool but I didn’t feel the race got interesting until fiest pitstops. Great work by several drivers today. Good points for Gasly too

  29. 7 There was quite some action on track but the director chooses to show the front cars . That made it a pity. Alonso and Perez amongst others where great. Loved the strategy and mind games.

  30. I rate it a 6. It was a dull race, with only some action at the back of the field. I didn’t expect anything more from this track. Good for qualifying laps. Not so much for racing. I hope the 2022 cars can put on a better show next year.

    The fans were great though.

  31. Orange smokes!

  32. The commentators seemed to be watching a different race to me as I found it pretty boring.

    Seeing an out of position Perez fighting his way through the field did little to lift my mood and I think I was generous in awarding it a 4.

    Ultimately the track is too narrow for modern F1 cars to race each other.

  33. Another race without any appeal.
    A little better than the previous one, yes.
    But crap either way.

  34. Constant limit driving, amazed we didn’t see a double yellow, safety car and so on.
    En joyed the push everyone had.
    The overtaking here and there, not on drs-straights but to anticipation and guts.

    The support and pressure in that race circuit.
    front battle stayed interesting, middle part is always a bit conserving of tires, was nice to see.

    Mercedes is a bit down when they have to sit behind a car or many lap overtakings.

  35. Best race of the year so far. Not that the victory was terribly exciting or uncertain, but a terrific, punishing circuit, no silly run-offs, no SC/red flags, just enough non-DRS, hard-won overtaking, and many tense midfield battles. 8/9, could have been a 10 with a battle for the win

    1. I will have some of what you are smoking. Best race indeed !!

      1. OK so which ones were better for you this season?

        1. All of them except Spa!

        2. I would rank them:
          1. Hungary
          2. Britain
          3. Imola
          4. Austria
          5. Baku
          6. France
          7. Bahrain
          8. Spain
          9. Netherlands
          10. Styria
          11. Portugal
          12. Monaco
          13. Belgium

          All of the top nine were fantastic races. What a great season 2021 has been so far.

          1. Imola best imo, rain rain rain!

          2. France was also noteworthy I think with that chase.

  36. 9/10, lots of goosebumps but I’m Dutch.

    Beautiful circuit, if the straight was 200 meters longer it would be perfect.

    Maybe more overtaking next year with the new cars.

  37. Probably was all the expectations that it would be like Monaco regarding overtaking that the race surprised me by having a “good” amount of them.
    And it was not all straightforward for the race win, with Hamilton being closer than I expected.

    For a race with no major incidents, it was pretty cool.

  38. Again this is a race you have to be at the circuit to appreciate the whole thing. On TV it looks bad, at the circuit one big party. Happy drivers, happy teams, happy spectators and bored chips and beer consuming internet tigers.

    1. They definitely need to improve the TV coverage. Maybe the crew being unfamiliar with the circuit was a factor, but the coverage was terrible.

      1. Guess you are right. That was what the organisation also said. They are going to improve a couple of things. Steep learning curve.

  39. I was on the grandstands on Saturday and watched the race at home on Sunday…… the buzz, the vibe…
    Quote Toto “Zandvoort set a new benchmark in F1 organisation and fans engagement’.

    On Saturday I watched two F3 races and W-series, apart from F1 and Porsche quali, the first official races and they showed us overtaking in different corners using different lines was possible,. Overtaking is never easy in F1, however overtaking is possible at Zandvoort….just don’t expect Mercedes simply zoom by Verstappen… it’s not 2020 and Zandvoort is not Monaco. FIA didn’t allow DRS to open before the last (banked) corner as planned, they just wanted to test tyre wear over a whole race before maximizing the track’s true potential…so it has more in store.

    A close fight at the front, Alonso close fights on track and Perez cutting through traffic…the race had everything it needed/

  40. Surprisngly good race with a top fight for the lead, and without a single disruption. I was almost sure there would be at least one stoppage, but nothing.

    Both 1 and 2 stop working was also a surprise.

    But the track separates too much. Lapping every car except 2, and several cars 2 times was not all about it being a short lap.

    Some good overtakes proving how cambered corners really helps when both inside and outside are equally fast.

    1. Separates too much, you mean it makes too much difference between car performance? If so I think so too.

  41. 1 (1%)
    2 (2%)
    3 (3%)
    4 (5%)
    5 (10%)
    6 (21%)
    7 (26%)
    8 (19%)
    9 (6%)
    10 (7%)
    Total Voters: 197

    Hard to vote, I went for 7 before checking the votes and it proved the more popular choice, would’ve been a 7,5 for me, it’s a sort of monaco, or actually hungary, hard to overtake but possible with some pace advantage, not only drs overtakes but we saw some in the twisty section, and we also saw some strategic battle, so that reminds of monaco in a way.

    Interesting the recovery perez did, although it’s ridiculous he was voted driver of the day, red bull proved to have a good car when a driver recovers that much on such a difficult track, mercedes was up there, quite funny to see how far behind bottas ended up early on, so that the engineer told him “with this pace we won’t be in fight for the win”.

    Great battle between verstappen and hamilton, also with the diversified strategy in the end, hard vs mediums, and also interesting to follow the ferraris trying to catch up with gasly towards the end with hard vs mediums, but he was just too fast, alonso great overtake on sainz in the end and perez got close too, if only he performed well in quali and didn’t make mistakes in races too often.

    1. Shame for giovinazzi also, great quali and race till then.

  42. I just don’t enjoy “racing” on tracks like this with these cars and their issues with overtaking. Sure, it’s a beautiful track (for qualifying) and the fans and atmosphere were great.

    But I hate procession races. They need to make the straight longer on this track AND I hope the cars really can follow closer next year.

    I got busy doing some work while I was “watching” and kept trying to look up to see if anything interesting would happen. Not really.

  43. I could only give this 5/10. It’s an interesting and unusual circuit but I don’t think it provided a very good race. It seems quite narrow and of course as with a lot of circuits, it’s difficult for cars to stay close enough to overtake.

    Not much of a battle at all for the first five places. Then some of the key passes were missed by the race coverage. It also seems to accentuate the difference between the top two teams and the rest.

    It might be better next year. Really not sure how people have this 7s or 8s.

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