General overview
The summer break kicks off with yet another McLaren victory, though reliability concerns raised alarms after Norris was forced to retire, denying the team what looked like another dominant one-two finish. A solid second place went to the home hero Verstappen, while VCARB impressed with Hadjar securing a podium thanks to a strong race and an incisive qualifying performance that earned him a second-row start. It was a nightmare race for Ferrari, with both cars retiring due to accidents.
This may have been one of the most dominant races of the season, with McLaren untouchable throughout, as clearly shown by the ranking plot and the violin plot. The race itself was relatively calm, with few overtakes; the main excitement came from the crashes and Safety Cars, which also played a role in shaping strategies.
Race strategy
Strategy-wise, nearly everyone ended up on a two-stop, largely dictated by the Safety Car periods. This neutralized what could have been a real strategic dilemma between one and two stops.
Focus on drivers’ lap times
Comparing the race gapper plot and the fuel-corrected lap time plot makes McLaren’s superiority crystal clear. Across all stints, especially after restarts, they pulled away with ease. In the fuel-corrected analysis, Piastri consistently lapped at least half a second quicker than Verstappen, while Verstappen and Hadjar were closely matched, a testament to the Frenchman’s excellent performance.
Only in the final stint did Verstappen attempt to close in on the soft tires, but he never truly threatened the Australian. The race gapper gives an even broader picture, showing just how far ahead Piastri was; without the Safety Cars, the final gap to the rest would likely have been enormous.
Conclusions
In championship terms, the setback is costly for Norris, who now sits 34 points behind his teammate. Time for a reset before heading to Monza, the Temple of Speed. Unlike Zandvoort, with its medium-to-high downforce setup and narrow, twisty layout that makes overtaking tricky, Monza demands the lowest downforce configurations of the year to maximize straight-line speed and engine power.