Round 12 of the 2026 season sees Lando Norris start from pole position at Zandvoort, ahead of the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. With overtaking notoriously difficult around the narrow, flowing Dutch circuit, strategy could prove decisive.
The optimal approach appears to be a one-stop, beginning on the medium compound before switching to the hard tyre between laps 27 and 33.
Starting on the soft is a viable alternative, pitting slightly earlier in the window of laps 26 to 32 and then running the hard to the flag, though this is expected to cost around one second overall.
But two-stop strategies are not off the table. A medium-hard-soft sequence or a soft-medium-medium split both look competitive in clean air, but Zandvoort's limited overtaking opportunities make any additional pit stop a significant gamble.
In the sprint race, the soft tyre held on for Charles Leclerc during his stint, allowing him to overtake Norris for the runner-up.
It served as a key pointer, with Pirelli's motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi stating: “The C4 delivered the level of performance Leclerc needed to close in on Norris thanks to its superior grip, without any drop-off in pace over a longer stint.
“The relatively low temperatures also helped keep the compound within its optimal operating window.
“The Sprint further demonstrated how difficult overtaking can be at Zandvoort, an important factor when assessing how costly a pit stop may prove to be."
"The quickest strategy is therefore a one-stop, starting on the Medium and running until laps 27-33 before switching to the Hard for the remainder of the race.
“An alternative, around one second slower, involves starting on the Soft, using it until the window between laps 26 and 32, and then finishing the race on the Hard."
“In clean air, two-stop strategies also look competitive on paper, but it is necessary to take into account, as noted earlier, the limited overtaking opportunities available around the circuit."
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