F1: Dutch GP Post-Race Quotes

All ten Formula 1 team drivers and principals met with the media following the 2023 Dutch GP F1 race held at Zandvoort.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen, 1st

“I feel extremely proud to win the Dutch Grand Prix again and to win nine in a row is a massive achievement, I never thought it would be possible. It’s always amazing to be here and the National anthem before the Grand Prix really gave me goosebumps. Of course, there were a lot of hectic moments today with the rain coming in, the race was all about trying to stay calm and make the right calls at the right time and we did just that.

“There was a fantastic atmosphere here all weekend and being at my home Grand Prix with all the fans makes this win feel even more special. I think everyone was completely soaked after that downpour and still they were listening and dancing to music and having a great time.”

Sergio Perez, 4th

“It was such an unfortunate afternoon in the end, especially with the later calls, we got the first one right and then when we boxed for the inters things weren’t ready because I had to make such a late call due to the rain suddenly falling. When I was coming into the pitlane to box for inters it was completely flooded, I lost traction in the car and ended up clipping the wall and sliding a little which put me over the speed limit.

“You know a lot more after the race but overall it’s an okay result given the chaos of the afternoon. The Team always know the wider picture when they are making decisions in the race and I don’t have all the information in the car, that’s why we have strategists and everyone makes the calls in the interest of the Team. We had good pace and definitely deserved a podium today, so it’s a shame we didn’t make it.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal

“The rain was on and off throughout the whole race, but Max did an amazing job in the tricky conditions. He had an incredible drive having to come back through the field after his first pit stop, with some drivers staying out on the slick tire and others pitting for the inters. Once everything settled down, he was able to build a lead and had everything under control. We knew the heavy rain towards the end was coming and when you’re in first place you have everything to lose, but Max had a great restart and secured first place with an excellent drive.

“Checo made great progress coming from seventh on the grid and made a superb call to switch to the inters towards the start, the Team reacted super-fast and he took lead of the race. During the next cycle of pit stops, as the track started to dry, we had to bring Max in to avoid getting undercut. Sometimes you have to make big calls for the Team and that was one of those moments. It’s a shame we couldn’t have Checo up on the podium following his penalty, as he deserved to be there but with a race with so much drama and jeopardy there’s always things that we can reflect on.

“In all the Team had a very strong day and for Max to match Seb Vettel’s record of nine consecutive victories, it’s incredible. The fact that we’ve achieved it twice now as a Team is something very special to us.”

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso, 2nd

“It’s a nice feeling to be back on the podium after a very intense race and some intense emotions. I think P2 and fastest lap was the maximum we could have achieved today with the heavy rain and the red flag. It was a very well executed race by our team and it means a lot in front of the passionate fans here in Zandvoort. The AMR23 responded well to everything today and I was in sync with it, it was a good feeling. I’m probably happier now than I was scoring podiums at the beginning of the year because after we struggled for podiums in July, coming back strong feels incredible. I cannot lie, I thought about passing Max [Verstappen] and if I was side by side with him I wouldn’t have lifted off, but I did not have the full chance. You need some intuition sometimes in the race and there was a bit of rain so I attacked very aggressively. Now I’m looking forward to Monza.”

Lance Stroll, 11th

“It wasn’t the race we were hoping for today. The changing weather conditions made it very challenging to make the right strategy call and we just didn’t make the right tire decisions in the opening few laps. We’d hoped to survive the first downpour on the slick tires, but the rain was heavier than expected and we switched to the Intermediate compound a little too late. Once the running order had stabilized, I found myself stuck in traffic and struggled to make any progress. It’s disappointing as the car was performing well and I think more was possible, but that’s racing sometimes. We’ll learn from today’s mistakes and push hard again in Monza.”

Mike Krack, Team Principal

“What a race! A fantastic second place for Fernando and the team. Fernando delivered a well-judged race, survived the tricky conditions, and showed strong pace in the wet and the dry. This result will mean a huge amount to the entire team at track and back at the Campus, and shows our hard work is paying off. It means we have broken the 200-point barrier for the first time and gives us real momentum going into the final races of the year. It is a shame we did not optimize the race for Lance and the decision to remain on dry tires in the early stages cost him a chance of scoring points.”

Alpine

Esteban Ocon, 10th

“First of all, congratulations to Pierre and the whole team for today’s great result. Overall, we can be happy with our race as a team, leaving Zandvoort with double points and the podium. On my side, it was a solid recovery drive from where we started, fighting my way to well within the points. We will definitely need to review a few things as there were some opportunities missed which cost us some positions and some points. Generally, there will be many learnings from the last few days which I hope we can take to Monza next week to keep improving as a team.”

Pierre Gasly, 3rd

“What a race! It feels really good to be on the podium here in Zandvoort and the entire team deserves this. After the season we have had so far, so many ups and downs, I do feel we deserve this result. It was an insane race, so much action, so many tough calls to make but everything went well, from the decision making to the strategy to the pit-stops, it was all very well executed. We had the unfortunate five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, but in the end that did not matter as we still had enough pace to put ourselves in contention for a good result. It was a tough final few laps with the conditions, but we managed it very well. Thanks to the entire team for his podium, and let’s keep up the hard work looking ahead to next weekend’s race in Monza; where I have fond memories!”

Bruno Famin, Interim Team Principal

“With the weather conditions today, it was important for the team to remain calm and make the right calls. Doing so allowed the drivers to advance up the order from their qualifying positions and bring home valuable points for the team. It was about being on the right tire at the right time, as well as keeping the car on track and the drivers drove a very mature race. Operationally we executed the race extremely well and Pierre’s podium is a reward for the team’s efforts. Together with tenth for Esteban, it’s good to have both cars finishing in the points. We still have lots of work ahead of us and we will look capitalize on this result heading to the next race in Monza.”

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc, DNF

“It was a tricky race on my side. When I arrived at the last corner on lap 1, I saw how much rain was coming down and decided to call for a pit stop. I knew it was a late one, but at the same time, I also knew that it would be worth it in the end, because we had more to gain than to lose there.

“Unfortunately, after Oscar [Piastri] and I touched, I had damage on my floor and the issue got worse over the course of the race, ultimately leading to us retiring. It’s not been the weekend we wished for overall, but I’m already looking forward to our home race in Monza next week.”

Carlos Sainz, 5th

“We had a good race execution overall with no mistakes in these difficult conditions. For the last stint we had to fit a very used set of Intermediates from yesterday and it was all about defending. I gave absolutely everything from the first lap to the last but unfortunately P5 was the maximum we could achieve this weekend.

“It’s good points and we have gained ground over Mercedes and McLaren, on a difficult weekend for the team. We obviously want more and we will keep pushing. Now I’m looking forward to our home race at Monza next weekend.”

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

“It was definitely a busy weekend, run in very difficult conditions. Carlos drove a great race, managing to match the pace of those ahead up until the rain returned. At that point he had to deal with the handicap of running Intermediates that had done more laps than those of the drivers around him and he did well to keep two strong competitors, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, behind him, thus bringing home the best result possible in these circumstances.

“Charles’ race was compromised on the opening lap, when there was the collision with Oscar Piastri, which caused damage on his SF-23. We felt it would be enough to change the front wing but unfortunately, the floor was also damaged and that got worse with every passing lap, to the point that we decided to retire him. Now we focus on Monza, our home race, where we want to execute the weekend perfectly from every point of view so that the drivers can get everything there is to be had out of our package.”

Lewis Hamilton, 6th

“I didn’t really know how today was going to go – last night, I was wracking my brain about where we went wrong in qualifying and how we ended up P13, and how to climb back up. I wanted to start the race on an offset tire compound, but then it turned out I was the only one in the field on a different tire – and then the rain came. As a team, we made the wrong decision and paid the price, coming out last. After that, I just got my head down and I was chasing; it was a great example that when you fall or stumble, just get back up and keep trying. Each time I pitted, I came out behind, and kept chasing and chasing. I was really happy – I passed the McLaren, for example, which isn’t easy at this track. And then at the end, I just needed DRS to pass Sainz, because I was quicker but didn’t have the speed on the straight to do it. But overall, it’s a feeling of what could have been: if we’d made different calls, we had the pace to challenge the top two. We weren’t far off in the dry – and it would have been good to be in that fight.”

George Russell, 17th

“That was a tough one today – I went into the race expecting to fight for a podium and I ended up P17. We were expecting the rain to stay for just a few minutes, and it ended up being close to ten. It was ready for inters but I thought I could brave it out for another lap or two if it was only going to be short – but that’s not what happened. We’d rather have a fast car and a bad day than the opposite, but it was a missed opportunity today. At the end, I was side by side with Lando into the chicane at the end of the lap, then we had contact. It cost a few points and it was a shame because we had such a fast car today, then our decisions on the weather went against us. But there are still positives to take away from the base pace we showed. We knew this circuit could be strong for us – and looking to Monza, it’s a totally different beast. We will clear our heads, go in with some new ideas and the learnings from this weekend, and see what we can do.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“That was a difficult day for us. In the opening 15 laps, we got pretty much everything wrong that we could have done – and that cost us any chance of fighting for the podium. For the next 50 laps until the red flag, it was pretty much business as usual: the car was quick on every tire compound, we made the right calls and the drivers did a great recovery to P6 and P8. In the final laps, George was unlucky to fall to the back after contact, while Lewis tried everything he could on Sainz but there was no way past. In the end, I’d rather we have a quick car and a bad result, than the other way round. It was an entertaining race for Formula One – and the kind of day when we should have been part of the action at the front. But if, but and maybe don’t count for anything in this sport. Now, we need to regroup, understand why we as a team got things wrong today, and go again in Monza next weekend.”

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

“Not a good day for us. We didn’t anticipate how heavy the early shower was going to be which meant we’d dropped both cars to the back from the very early stages. The decisions we took after that, however, were good, and we managed to get both cars back into a reasonable position when the race got red flagged. Unfortunately, Lewis couldn’t find a way past Sainz in the short intermediate stint at the end and George picked up a puncture fighting Norris, so we leave here with just eight points, making it our worst points score of the season. However, we can take encouragement from the fact the car has been good this weekend. Although we’ve struggled in certain conditions, the pace in the race was strong and we’re going in the right direction. We’re very happy that we’ll get to hit the track again in five days’ time as we will be wanting to put this result behind us.”

McLaren

Lando Norris, 7th

“If I start by looking at the final positions, we got some points, which is a good thing but not as many as we should have got today. We made some incorrect decisions and on a day like today, that can win or lose you a lot of time. We were just on the losing end. We’ll review it, we’ll make sure we do a better job next time. I think it’s impossible to be perfect with this, it’s just about limiting your mistakes. We’ve got some work to do but we’re getting there.”

Oscar Piastri, 9th

“P9, not the most straightforward of afternoons. I think we maybe could have taken a few more opportunities that were there but all-in-all not a terrible afternoon and definitely some things to learn from. At one point it was looking a lot worse so it was a nice comeback in the second half of the race and we’ll definitely learn what we could have done a bit differently before heading to Monza with the goal of scoring more points.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“After a busy race, with changing weather conditions, we finish P7 and P9, scoring some important points. But the reality is we could have got more today as we missed a couple of opportunities.

“With Lando, we hesitated too much at the start of the race before pitting for Intermediate tires. On Oscar’s side we opted to stay out through the rain on dry tires, where he did an excellent job. From there his race was unfolding well, but unfortunately he locked the front tires, needed to pit and we lost the advantage gained.

“We don’t give up. The good news is that the car was, again, quite competitive. So we will review where we could have improved and go again in Italy

Williams

Logan Sargeant, DNF

“It was a tricky start to the race with the rain coming down. It looks like the inters were maybe the better option, but we tried to survive out there on the slicks and, after yesterday, I was just trying to be extremely cautious and build up nicely, but I lost a bit too much tire temperature in those wet conditions. Then, unfortunately, it didn’t end the way we wanted it to. I touched the curb and it seems that from the impact of that, we had an issue with hydraulics and power steering. Once I lost that assistance there was really nothing I could do. I still need to watch it back, but we need to look into what went wrong. I want to say a huge thank you to the team for getting the car turned around for today.”

Alex Albon, 8th

“You could argue we should’ve pitted earlier at the start of the race, but we stuck to our guns and it worked for us with tire management, managing for 40-odd laps on the softs.You can only do that with a car that’s good and it felt strong all weekend. It was very easy to control the front and rear degradation, just with tools and driving, always able to shift the balance where I needed it to be. Then we pitted for mediums and began making our way up the order towards P5 and P4 and I thought it was perfect until I found out about the rain.

“We need to review that second pitstop call; it’s so tricky because I didn’t pit and for the first half of the lap I thought I’d overcut the two cars in front of me but in 30 seconds it went from a soft to a full wet tire and we lost out on the undercut. It happens; it feels like we finish today slightly disappointed that we didn’t finish in 6th, but 8th is still an amazing result for us, especially considering we’re here on merit this weekend. It’s been our strongest weekend yet and the best I’ve felt in the car in my time at Williams, so there’s so many positives to take from here.”

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance

“Overall, it was a really strong result for the team today. To finish 8th in Zandvoort with our main rivals out of the points is a great result, however, having worked our way back to 6th place with Alex, the timing of the final rain interruption was frustrating. The car worked well this weekend and whilst there are a few things that we could’ve done better today, we can be pleased with the result. We’ll review the race and understand how we could’ve done better in the changeable conditions and we’ll be stronger next time.

“The team did an excellent job to repair Logan’s car overnight and it was a shame that he was unable to finish the race. We are still investigating the cause of his DNF, but he suffered with a loss of hydraulics. We now look forward to Monza, which is the second ATA event of the season and quite a different challenge to this weekend in Zandvoort.”

Nico Hulkenberg, 12th

“It was a very dynamic race and the last five laps were just survival mode. I think there were only two of us – Valtteri (Bottas) and myself – who decided to stay out on slicks when the rain began, which wasn’t the right decision in hindsight. I lost quite a bit of race time in those couple of laps, so we missed an opportunity there. After that, you run your race, but it was difficult to gage were you were, so I did my own race. Pace, from what I could see, was alright in the midfield, but obviously not enough to do anything at the front. We collected a lot of data with the new front wing which we now need to study and understand more and hopefully we can optimize it.”

Kevin Magnussen, 16th

“I think we did a good job at the beginning of the race with the conditions and managing that well. We got up to P7 I think and then it dried up, and there was a Safety Car which didn’t help us because we lost all that advantage that we had given ourselves with the right calls. We fell from P7 to outside of the points and it’s a shame. It feels extra frustrating when you manage to hustle your way into the top 10 and then you don’t have the pace to be there. We’ll keep working and today we showed we’re trying our best and going for it when there’s an opportunity, but we need more pace.”

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal

“Quite an exciting race in general with all the weather changes and I think we got right what we could, we steered clear of unforced errors in some tricky conditions. Our dry pace is not good enough at the moment however, but I think we got out as much as we could from the race – that is where we are right now.”

AlphaTauri

Liam Lawson, 13th

“The aim was to do all 72 laps today. When I first got on the grid and it started raining, it wasn’t the best feeling. After that, we had no choice but to make the pitstop but unfortunately, we got a penalty and lost a huge amount of time during it. I think once we got clean air during the second half of the race and then driving on the intermediate tires at the end, my pace wasn’t so bad. There’s some work to do, but I’m just happy to have gotten through the race, experiencing different conditions and scenarios, to be able to take them forward.”

Yuki Tsunoda, 15th

“I showed good speed and had some exciting moments throughout the first part of the race, defending from quite a few cars, so I’m happy about that. Before the race, the team and I agreed on our strategy of staying out on the used soft tire, and I thought we could make it until the end. The grip wasn’t too bad, but the new tire had more of an advantage than we thought, so it didn’t pay off in the end. When it started raining, I thought it was better to come in, and I appreciated the team listening and respecting my call. In the end, I didn’t have enough grip during the last laps on the intermediate tire and struggled to warm them up and keep the temperature in them. We have to look into it as it’s a little unusual. It’s a shame we didn’t show our pace during qualifying yesterday, but I’m happy we tried really hard today and were able to show a little more performance in the race.”

Guillaume Dezoteux, Head of Vehicle Performance

“The weather played a huge part today, and it’s been a big challenge for all of us to cope with the constant changes. Both drivers started on the soft compound but were immediately called in to change to the intermediate tires when the first shower hit the track. It was the right call and allowed us to jump some cars. When the track started to improve, we went back to the soft tires, and Yuki was able to maintain position compared to the fast-coming cars who stayed on dry tires during this first wet period. After the Safety Car, he was in a good position, so we took the gamble to leave him out. It was not the right decision because he started to lose time and positions, due to the old tires. Yuki eventually managed to hold on until the next rain came, which caused a red flag as the track was far too wet to carry on. The last laps on the intermediate tire were difficult, resulting from poor warm-up and low grip conditions. Yuki finished P16, after serving a 5-second penalty due to a collision with Russell.

“As for Liam, he did a very good job today, learning about the car and adapting to the conditions, which were constantly evolving. He made no mistakes and was able to build up the pace on dry tires, which he was driving on for the first time in our car. Overall, it was a difficult weekend. We will review the various decisions made and analyse the data to improve the cars and the decision-making process in such circumstances. Now it’s time to prepare for next week’s race in Monza, which will hopefully be dry!”

Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas, 14th

“First and foremost, I am really glad to see Zhou is ok after his crash. Every chaotic race is an opportunity, and I feel we weren’t able to really make the most of it today. We had a really good start, making up a lot of positions, and, when the rain came, we kept it on track, which was not easy in such challenging conditions. The grip out there was very poor and visibility limited, which on such a technical track is making driving even harder. In the end, we just did not have the pace to be in the points, especially in regular circumstances. We need to understand what went on and improve on it, I know everyone is working hard for it. Next up is Monza: it’s an important race for us, on a completely different track, and we can surely do better than this. There will be a lot of people from our factory on the stands, and we’re looking forward to all the support.”

Zhou Guanyu, DNF

“Finishing the race in the barrier is never nice: I am not injured, which is the most important thing, but I’m disappointed as we were doing a decent race until then. The downpour was very sudden and it was a tricky moment for me: I was one of the first on the scene at turn one, I wasn’t pushing given the conditions, but as soon as I touched the brakes the car aquaplaned. There was nothing I could really do, I couldn’t scrub any speed and I just went straight into the barriers. Before that, it had been a busy race in which we spent a lot of time in good positions. We were quite strong in the wet, but as soon as it got dry, we didn’t really have the pace to stay in the top ten. The Safety Car didn’t help us either: we were on medium tires, hoping to go long, but as soon as the race was neutralised, we ended up among those on soft tires, and it was not possible to keep them behind. We move on to Monza now, an important race for us: hopefully we can have a better outcome.”

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative

“This race marks the end of a difficult weekend for the team. We were not competitive in qualifying or the race, and this was the key element on which we will need to focus. The team tried everything: we made some good strategic calls in the changing conditions and put ourselves in a good position with Zhou. We tried the opposite strategy with Valtteri, leaving him out on dry tires, in order to cover all scenarios. Our mechanics did a good job, managing all the pit-stops in difficult conditions. Unfortunately, in the end there was just not enough pace in the car, and when conditions returned to normal, we were not able to remain in the points. Zhou’s crash was a big impact, but thankfully he was able to walk away with no injury. We’re not letting our head drop: we’ll just keep working hard to improve our performance and move forward, starting next weekend in Monza.”

Mario Isola, Motorsport Director

“It was a very spectacular race, with several changes in the weather which made life difficult for the teams when it came to deciding on which tire to use and when to pit. From a purely technical point of view, apart from the literally colorful sight of having all five our tire colors being used, two aspects are worth highlighting. As expected over the course of the weekend, the cooler temperatures favored the use of the Softs, clearly the best tire in the dry, even coping well in wet conditions, as demonstrated by the drivers who chose not to pit in the opening laps when it started to rain. The compound most affected was the Hard, but the long stint from Russell, who would probably have run to the checkered flag if the rain had not returned, demonstrated that this tire was not totally unsuited to the conditions. The second point to underline concerns the Intermediate, which once again proved to be competitive with either a little or a lot of water on the track.

“Finally, there are various people I wish to congratulate: Max Verstappen for his ninth consecutive win, the Zandvoort spectators who once again put on an amazing show in the grandstands, their enthusiasm so contagious despite the bad weather, Fernando Alonso back on the podium, as he had been doing regularly at the start of the season, at one point even looking to challenge for the win and to Pierre Gasly who produced a really great result.”