Autobayng News Team
Formula 1 drivers expect the pit lane speed limit change at Zandvoort will lead to more varied strategies in today’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Zandvoort has one of the tightest pit lanes on the calendar. As a result it has previously used the lower speed limit of 60kph, typically seen only at street circuits, instead of the 80kph limit used at permanent circuits.
However following changes the speed limit has been raised to 80kph this year. This may encourage teams to consider pitting more than once during the race, as they will lose less time than before by coming in.
Most drivers made a single pit stop during last year’s dry race but pole-winner Oscar Piastri expects the change will make a difference. “I think it does slightly help mix up strategies, potentially,” he said after qualifying. “We’ll see tomorrow.”
“It does feel like a tight pit lane here. I think for some reason it feels tighter than it is because when we raised it with the FIA, actually in terms of numbers and the gaps between boxes, it’s not the worst of the year. So I think it’s fine.
“It’s probably a little bit on the limit, but I think it will mix up the racing more, and it’s fine from a safety standpoint.”
Piastri was given a warning over his role in a near-miss with George Russell during practice on Friday, but he said the revised speed limit had no bearing on that situation. “My incident with George yesterday wasn’t to do with the speed limit, really,” he said. “It was just some confusion in our box. So I think it’s fine.”
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Max Verstappen collided with Andrea Kimi Antonelli during the sprint race in Miami when Red Bull released him from his pit box too soon. However he also believes it will be safe to use the 80kph speed limit at Zandvoort.
“I think it’s fine, the speed limit,” he said. “It’s always better if it can maybe spice up a bit more the strategy, otherwise, you want to stick to a one-stop. Maybe this opens the opportunity for a two-stop for some drivers so I guess that’s a good thing.”
Pirelli has also nominated softer tyres for this year’s race. But despite the two changes, Carlos Sainz Jnr says drivers will still prefer to make a single pit stop if they can.
“It’s so tight, the field, that I see no differences in race pace across cars and it’s going to be a difficult race to move forward,” he said. “I think many people will target one stop, but the deg[radation] is higher than in Hungary so it will be a very difficult one-stop.”
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