In numbers: 10 statistics ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix

It is safe to say the Dutch Grand Prix made a raucous return to the calendar last season, and we’re looking forward to seeing what 2022 has to offer.

Found on the coast, this 4.259km venue couldn’t be any more different to the one we raced at last weekend at Spa. Swooping through the sand dunes, drivers will hardly get a second to rest around this undulating, old-school race track.

With that, we’ve put together 10 statistics about the circuit and also the Netherlands to whet the appetite.

Alex Albon’s grid position of P6 at the Belgian Grand Prix was our best start of the 2022 season.  Ironically, Albono had been the only driver on the grid without a Q3 appearance prior to Spa.

This weekend is our 175th Grand Prix using the Mercedes-Benz power unit. Williams have been powered by the German manufacturer since the beginning of the turbo hybrid era in 2014, and the partnership has delivered 16 podium finishes, six front row starts (including a 1-2 on the grid at the 2014 Austrian GP), with the team finishing in the top five in the Constructors’ Championship on four occasions.

We were winners at Zandvoort back in 1979, when Alan Jones claimed what was just the team’s fourth F1 victory at the time, at the wheel of the FW07 chassis. The exact car driven by Alan is set to be at the circuit this weekend.

Once again, Spa showed how slippery our FW44s are through the air, with Alex’s #23 car quickest of all through the speed trap at a rapid 314.4 km/h. A Williams machine has recorded the highest top speed in qualifying at four of the last six races.

For the second race in a row, Nicholas Latifi was in the top eight in the fastest lap column during the Belgian Grand Prix. His best time was only 0.279s adrift of Carlos Sainz, who finished on the podium from pole position.

As F1-obsessed as the Dutch have become in recent years, the Netherlands famously have more bicycles (over 22 million) than humans (17 million). The Dutch are said to cycle an average of 2.9 kilometres per day, which adds up to around 1,000 kilometres per year!

There will be no need to translate these facts into Dutch, as over 90% of the population of the Netherlands speak English as a second language.  Overall, 94% of Dutch people speak at least two languages, far beyond the EU average of 54%.

The Dutch are the tallest people in the world, averaging 176cm overall, while men average 182.6 cm.  Don’t get stuck behind them when you’re trying to watch the race!

Zandvoort first held a round of the World Championship in 1952 and was an almost continuous annual stop for the F1 fraternity up until holding its final race in 1985. When it returned in 2021 it was on a circuit with a totally revised second half of the lap, yet the current layout of 4.259km is almost precisely the same length as the old circuit’s 4.252km.

Being situated on the North Sea coast, Zandvoort is almost as close to some UK households as Silverstone. Those living in Harwich are only 179 miles from the main entrance of the racetrack, the North Sea ferry included!