Renger van der Zande enjoyed the achievements of newcomer Oliver Bearman at the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. The 18-year-old talent finished seventh, ahead of fellow countrymen Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Van der Zande also analyzed the start extensively and paid attention to race winner Max Verstappen.
At the start, Verstappen immediately repelled Charles Leclerc’s attack, Van der Zande sees. ‘He did very well, there was nothing to complain about. It was Max at his Max, just maximizing. He also immediately blocks Leclerc, so that Pérez can join in immediately.’ Ultimately, Leclerc retained second place at the start thanks to strong defensive work, but a few laps later he still had to acknowledge his superiority in Pérez.
While Verstappen’s start went perfectly, things did not go smoothly for Norris. The Brit left too early, then stopped again, and then only started again after the starting lights went out. ‘He went, then stood still again, and went again. I was surprised that he was not punished,” said Van der Zande.
Verstappen keeps margin
Verstappen’s victory was no longer in question for the rest of the race. “I haven’t seen Max, have you?” Van der Zande asks after another dominant display from the Dutchman. The 56-time Grand Prix winner still had to work hard despite the somewhat boring race. ‘That job is intense. You have a lot of G-forces, so Max also crossed the finish line sweaty. This is a serious circuit,” the driver knows.
Van der Zande suspects that Verstappen could have driven even faster if necessary. ‘I don’t think Max was pushing hard and with a few laps to go he had to overtake some drivers. That cost him the temperature in the tires, which prevented him from achieving the fastest lap time. He is so dominant, that is clear.’ Verstappen ultimately fell one tenth short of Leclerc’s time.
Bearman top, Stroll flop
A Safety Car period followed early in the race, because Lance Stroll made an error in judgment. ‘He thought: I’ll just steer a little more sharply. He hit the wall, and then he ends up in the other wall because the steering rod was broken. So after that the left front and right front were broken,” is how the Canadian’s mistake is analyzed. A missed opportunity for Aston Martin, because Fernando Alonso showed with P5 that the speed was quite good.
Bearman’s performance was also taken into account by the Ziggo Sport analyst. Van der Zande saw how the 18-year-old debutant was struggling at the end of the race. “You could see that helmet jingling up and down, very beautiful,” Van der Zande laughs at the images of substitute Bearman, who finished seventh.
The attitude of the Briton was particularly striking. ‘He had to get through traffic, while Leclerc could drive a very boring race at the front. You also saw him fight in the beginning. He was super aggressive, and I liked that. He’s so young. The fact that you can already sit in that Ferrari is so nice. It’s a great weekend for that boy, he’s only eighteen years old,” says Van der Zande.
