After a refreshing summer break, F1 is heading to what could be one of the biggest race weekends of the year. Not having won the last 4 races, the Dutch GP is a redemptive home race for Max Verstappen. The stakes are only heightened by the statistic marking this race as the reigning world champion’s 200th F1 race. It is a story of all or nothing for the Dutchman with McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari, ready to pounce if he falters.

In the bigger picture, Verstappen also expects Lando Norris to give a close fight for the 2024 championship, despite the McLaren driver being 78 points behind. The Dutch GP results will set the tone for the second half of 2024, but there is a twist. It won’t be a straightforward weekend with the heavens predicted to open on Zandvoort.

Dutch GP weather forecast: Rain returns to spice up the race at Zandvoort

Zandvoort is a tricky track to excel at. With steep banking on corners (18 degrees near the end) and a rich history to the old-school track, it’s a driver’s nightmare-like heaven. “Fast, furious, and unforgiving” is how McLaren‘s website describes the circuit. With the difficulty level already set to ‘world-class’, rain promises the ultimate chaos. Here’s what the weather for the Dutch GP weekend looks like:

Friday, August 23: Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2

The weather on the Free Practice day will serve as a sweet welcome for all the teams and drivers. As per Williams F1’s forecast, a drizzle will grace Zandvoort extending for the entire day before easing in the evening. Other weather models contradict this with the chance of rain slightly increasing as the day progresses. But the bottom line, it will rain and temperatures peak at 22 degrees Celsius.

Southwest winds will blow at the speed of 40 to 55 km/h, occasionally going over 65 km/h. The winds will relent in the evening, dropping to speeds between 25 and 40 km/h. Humidity will be high, ranging from 75% to 81%.

Saturday, August 24: Free Practice 3 and Qualifying

On the big qualifying day, the chances of rain increase to 65%. Free Practice 3 will expect more rain than in qualifying. The Southwest winds will lose more power, dropping between 15 and 30 km/h in the day. Humidity levels remain similar, at around 75%.

Sunday, August 25: Race Day

The Intermediate tires that assist drivers on wet tracks might get to rest for the Dutch GP. After two rainy days, race day will be mostly sunny, with the winds heading west at similar speeds as Saturday. Humidity drops slightly but remains high at 64%. Now that you know what to expect from mother nature, let’s head to what the circuit brings to drivers.

The “epic” Zandvoort – Why F1 drivers love the old-school Dutch circuit

Zandvoort is one of the oldest tracks on the calendar, dating back to the third F1 championship in 1952. As celebrated as it was in the early years, the 1970s cast a dark shadow over it. Fatal crashes in 1970 and 1973 destroyed the track’s reputation. Though peace was restored in the coming decade, the Dutch GP lost its place on the calendar in 1985, with the company managing the track going out of business.

In 2021, after a 35-year intermission, the Dutch GP finally returned to F1. The safety precautions were massively upped and all the drivers who were racing at Zandvoort for the first time in their F1 careers found it exhilarating. “Oh man, that track is epic,” said Lewis Hamilton, adding, “It’s really fantastic. It brought so many memories when I first got out there when I was driving here because I knew it was great when I was in Formula 3, but it’s crazy in a Formula 1 car. The speed we’re going through Turn 7, it’s a real racing circuit.”

His then-Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas also “enjoyed” the unique, banked corners. But the undulating circuit also brought some physical challenges, as Sergio Perez explained. “It’s been pretty challenging, also the long run, physically as well, it’s on the hard side because you have so many right-hand corners consecutively. It’s a pretty unique challenge, very different to the tracks we have been to,” the Red Bull driver said.

Then-AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly was left flabbergasted by the banked corners, like Bottas. “On TV, all the bankings are always smaller, and when you get in the car, it is always more impressive. Especially Turn 3 is pretty insane. It’s like sliding into a toboggan or a similar feeling, but with an F1 car at such speed, it’s quite unique.” Even Carlos Sainz was taken aback by the corners that he’d “never experienced before.”

The Dutch GP pit lane is also relatively shorter, and it only adds to the challenge. Teams have to be more careful about releasing their drivers after a pit stop, and drivers have to be more mindful of other cars if the team messes up. With the weather forecast taken care of and what drivers love about the track, let’s move on to what the drivers are expecting from the 2024 Dutch GP.

Dutch GP 2024: Driver & team expectations for the rollercoaster weekend

Let’s begin with Haas, who entered the second half of 2024 in their best form since joining F1 in 2016. Team Principal Ayao Komatsu cannot help but get swept away in the Orange Army-led enthusiasm. “The atmosphere in Zandvoort is very unique,” he says. “It’s more like a football stadium than a Formula 1 event really, especially before the race on the grid with the music and Orange Army.”

Nico Hulkenberg, who has raced a lot at Zandvoort in his junior career, expects to create more good memories but is wary of the ‘tricky’ overtaking. Kevin Magnussen, like Komatsu, is also quite excited. “The Dutch Grand Prix has a crazy atmosphere with the Orange Army, which is about 99 percent of the fans there.” VCARB, which is Haas’ main rival for P6 in the constructors’, has a lot riding on the Dutch GP. This is Daniel Ricciardo‘s only race to impress the Red Bull bosses because September is the deadline to announce reserve driver, Liam Lawson’s future.

However, Red Bull itself is in shaky waters. Helmut Marko expects no improvement to the ‘imbalanced’ RB20 at Zandvoort. Though Max Verstappen will easily tame his car, it is Sergio Perez who could suffer more. The Mexican driver has the most to lose despite his Red Bull seat being safe for the rest of 2024.

With two wins from three races before the summer break, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will aim to capitalize on the momentum. If the 7-time champion takes his 3rd victory of 2024 at the Dutch GP, he will also pass Verstappen in career win percentage – Hamilton’s 30.35% will increase to 30.54%, and Verstappen’s will drop from 30.65% to 30.5%.

His future team, Ferrari, is bringing a massive upgrade package with a revamped floor on the SF24. This could throw them back in the mix for consistent podiums if the ‘bouncing’ issue is taken care of. McLaren, on the other hand, has been on the money since Lando Norris’ Miami GP win. The Briton also has fond memories here from his F3 days. “I also raced in Zandvoort in 2017 in Formula 3, and I must honestly say that I found it one of the coolest tracks to race on: physically demanding, but really fun,” he says ahead of the Dutch GP.

With all drivers revitalized after the summer break, Zandvoort promises to deliver an absolute thriller. There could not be a better destination for F1 to kick off the second half of 2024.