This weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix marks a milestone in Pirelli’s time in Formula 1, as this race will be the five hundredth world championship round of motorsport’s blue riband category in which the Italian marque has had an official presence. The story dates back to 13 May 1950 and the British Grand Prix, which was also the very first world championship event. That day at Silverstone, four Alfa Romeos and four Maseratis were fitted with Pirelli tyres and the race winner Giuseppe Farina, followed home by Luigi Fagioli and Red Parnell, all driving Alfas, gave the Italian tyres a clean sweep of the podium places. Since then, Pirelli has been present at 499 events, split between three eras: from 1950 to 1958, from 1981 to 1991 (although not in 1987 and 1988) and, from 2021 onwards, it has been the FIA Formula 1 World Championship’s Global Tyre Partner.

There will be celebrations at the Zandvoort track and these will continue the following weekend when Monza hosts the Italian Grand Prix, of which Pirelli is the Title Sponsor. In the Netherlands, all the cars and all the slick tyres will carry a special 500 GP logo, which was revealed in London on 18 February at the celebrations for 75 years of Formula 1. In Monza, team personnel and drivers, will join senior management from F1, the FIA and Pirelli for a celebratory photo a few hours before the race start.

The compounds
For the race in the Netherlands, Pirelli has gone a step softer in terms of compounds than last year. The teams will have a choice of the C2 as Hard, the C3 as Medium and the C4 as Soft, whereas in 2024 the available compounds were C1, C2 and C3. The decision, taken in conjunction with the FIA and the championship promoter, has the aim of increasing the likelihood of a strategy based on two stops, rather than just the one-stop, which has been the predominant choice since this race returned to the calendar in 2022. A further step in this direction stems from the FIA’s decision to increase the pit lane speed limit from 60 to 80 km/h, thus reducing the time taken for a pit stop. According to simulations provided by the teams, the one-stop is still quickest, partly because overtaking is notoriously difficult at Zandvoort, with very few straights apart from the main one, combined with the fact the whole track is quite narrow.

In 2024
16 drivers lined up on the grid on the Medium tyre, while three, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Bottas went for the Soft, with Magnussen starting from the pit lane on Hards. Three quarters of the field made just one stop during the race, taking on the Hard as the second set, while Magnussen went with the Medium. The Mercedes pair pitted twice – Hamilton used two sets of C3 and Russell one – while the remaining three, Tsunoda, Bottas and Zhou, ran all three available compounds, with Albon choosing to run Medium, Hard, Medium.

Hulkenberg drove the longest stint of all, completing 57 laps on the Hard. Piastri topped the list with the Medium on 33 laps, while Hamilton ran 24 on the Soft.

The track
A lap of the Zandvoort track is 4.259 kilometres in length, running through the dunes on the North Sea coast, just under 40 kilometres from the capital of the Netherlands. It boasts 14 low to medium speed corners – four to the left and ten to the right – of which the third and last are banked at angles of 19 and 18 degrees respectively, much steeper than the turns at Indianapolis. These corners generate very high vertical and lateral loads on the tyres, which requires the teams to pay close attention to set-up and management of the car-tyre package. The aerodynamic downforce level required is very high, similar to that seen in Budapest. The track usually offers low levels of grip and this can be greatly exacerbated by sand blown onto the surface by the coastal winds. Being just a few hundred metres from the North Sea, the weather can be very changeable and, at the end of summer, temperatures are usually already below 20 °C.

Keyword: Energy density
Energy density is the amount of energy contained or stored in a volume or mass of a substance. Applied to Formula 1 tyres, the concept refers to the energy that is absorbed, accumulated and dissipated by the tyre when it is run on track. This energy is generated mainly through contact with the track surface and the stress to which it is subjected, from both deformation and frictional forces. The more corners the car drives through or the higher the speed, the greater the energy exerted on the tyre. This energy is turned into heat, increasing the temperature of the rubber, which directly affects grip levels, tyre degradation and performance. Therefore, it is essential to manage energy density in order to keep tyre temperatures within the optimal operating window to maximise performance. Poor energy density management, for example in the case of incorrect car balance, can be a contributing factor to issues such as graining or blistering. In terms of the outright amount of energy exerted, Suzuka, Lusail, Silverstone and Spa are all harder on tyres than Zandvoort. However, the track that hosts the Dutch Grand Prix is the one where energy density is highest, due to several factors including its relatively short length, the high number of corners, combined with the lack of straights where tyres could be rested and cool down.

Statistics Corner
This weekend’s race will be the 35th Dutch Grand Prix to count towards the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Since the first edition in 1952, all have been run at Zandvoort. The current track layout made its debut in 2021, when the race returned to the calendar for the first time since 1985.

Jim Clark is the driver with the most wins here, on four, all in a Lotus. Behind him are three other world champions, with three victories apiece: Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Max Verstappen. The Dutchman leads the way when it comes to pole positions with three, joint equal with René Arnoux, while Clark and Lauda head the list for podium finishes with six each. Ferrari is the most successful team with eight wins, ahead of Lotus on six and McLaren on four, the latter winning here last year courtesy of Lando Norris. On eight, Lotus has the most poles, followed by Ferrari on seven, these positions reversed when it comes to podium finishes, Ferrari on 26, Lotus on 16.