Alonso and Perez star
The drives from Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth and fifth respectively, were as good as any at the Dutch GP. The pair maximised what they had beneath them, which is all that anyone can ask. But everyone loves a fighting drive or a comeback, which is why the efforts from Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez stole the limelight at Zandvoort.
Alonso was outqualified by Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon, but put in a trademark charge from the start and slipped past the Frenchman at Turn 3 on a hectic first lap. He then matched his young team-mate for pace, despite Ocon claiming he was faster, then pulled a move on Carlos Sainz Jr. on the last lap for a superb sixth. The old warrior never gives up.
Perez was in the Red Bull doghouse after a poor qualifying left him down the grid. The team took the opportunity, with little more to lose, to change his engine, which meant ‘Checo’ started in the pitlane. He again blotted his copybook by flat-spotting his right front hard-compound Pirelli early on, forcing a stop. But after that Perez got his head down and did what he does so well, overcame the troubled McLaren pair and finished a respectable eighth. Still, it didn’t hide the uncomfortable reality that he should have been racing up front, making the fight with the Mercedes duo an equal one rather than toiling to rise through the pack. After this race, it’s just as well he’s already confirmed as Verstappen’s team-mate for 2022.