Max Verstappen could equal the F1 win record set by Sebastian Vettel if he takes victory in front of his home crowd at Zandvoort. The Red Bull driver starts from pole after lapping over half a second quicker than McLaren's Lando Norris, who will start alongside the home favourite on the front row of the grid. Alex Albon starts from fourth - behind Mercedes' George Russell - and will be looking to capitalise on a good result for Williams but will need to contend with the fast-charging Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Sergio Perez. Lewis Hamilton starts outside the top 10 following a miscommunication with his team during qualifying and will be one to watch coming through the pack. It is expected to be a two-stop race at Zandvoort with varying strategies available to the drivers, with the fastest being to start on the Soft tyre and switch to the Medium between Lap 15 and 20 before swapping back to Softs around lap 45 to 50. Another possibility would be to do Soft-Hard-Soft on the same strategy. A one-stop is also available to the drivers which involves starting on the Medium - stopping on Lap 30 - and then running the Hard tyre until the end of the race. Drivers could also start on the Soft tyre and then switch to the Hard around Lap 22 to 28 on the same one-stop. Any rain either before or during the race, however, could throw strategies up in the air.
Isola: C1 offers more grip
Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola believes that the new C1 introduced this season will be a favourable tyre for some teams: "First and foremost, our Hard tyre here is the C1, which has been modified for this year and, while degrading very little offers more grip than its predecessor. "Then there is the weather with cool temperatures facilitating the use of the Medium and Soft compounds. The number of stops can also vary depending on the characteristics of the cars and the choices made when it comes to aero downforce levels. "Those who favour track position will most likely opt for a single stop, using a combination of C2 and C1. Those who believe they have what is needed to be competitive when it comes to overtaking, will go for the two stops, favouring the use of the Medium and Soft."
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