Cadillac Driver Lineup, Mixed Weather Conditions, Verstappen's Home Turf: What to Watch at The 2025 Dutch Grand Prix
It’s race week again! After a three-week break, Formula 1 is back in action at Circuit Zandvoort. With Cadillac’s driver lineup announcement, unpredictable weather, and a tighter-than-ever championship battle, here are some storylines to follow this weekend.
📢 Cadillac Confirms Perez-Bottas Driver Pairing for 2026
Cadillac joins the grid as the 11th team next season, and its driver lineup has been one of the sport’s worst-kept secrets. Many drivers, rookies, and veterans have been rumored to be in talks with the American team, but multiple sources confirmed earlier this week that Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will be leading the project.
On Tuesday, the team announced that the Perez-Bottas pairing will be its drivers for 2026. The two veteran drivers share a similar career path — both have served at multiple teams across the grid, but are most notably known for their stints at Redbull and Mercedes, respectively. Both drivers played a crucial supporting role in the Verstappen-Hamilton championship battle in 2021 and are multiple-race winners stacked against the greats in equal machinery.
Bottas is known for his speed over one lap in his Mercedes days, his Q3 stats remain among the best to this day. Last year, the Sauber car was far behind the field, and Bottas was not able to score a point in the season. This season, the Finn is serving as Mercedes’ reserve driver, helping with simulator runs, coaching rookie Antonelli, and doing fun marketing gigs for the team. Nicknamed the “Mexican Minister of Defense”, Perez is great at managing tires and finding the margin in street tracks. His epic win in Sakhir 2020 secured him a seat at Redbull. The well-loved Mexican driver had his ups and downs in the past four years as Redbull’s second driver, with the particularly challenging end of his stint. Knowing what we know now, in hindsight he’s arguably fared better than anyone in the infamous “second seat curse”.
While it might not have been the most exciting pairing to look forward to, as we do hope to see some new faces like Felipe Drugovich in the paddock, it is undoubtedly a very sensible and pragmatic decision. As a first-timer in the business, Cadillac needs drivers with experience who can provide direct feedback to improve the car. The 527 grand prix starts between the two drivers will be invaluable for the team.
☔ Weather & Strategy Come Into Play Again
Rain is in the forecast, and we all remember the chaos of 2023. Itwas one of the most chaotic races, with changing conditions that messed with teams’ strategy calls. If rain does fall, finding the correct crossover point and rejoining without traffic will no doubt make the race.
To spice things up, Pirelli brought tires that are one step softer than last year’s. With high tire degradation, especially in the front left, it would be interesting to see if the Soft tire will come into play at all during the race. Echoing Pirelli’s effort, the FIA also increased the maximum speed in the pit lane from 60km/h to 80km/h. Teams will be testing on simulators and collecting data from the Free Practice sessions ahead of race day to figure out the implications. As we have seen time and time again this season, track position is key, especially around a track like Zandvoort, where overtaking is difficult. All ten teams face the same question: is a two-stop gamble actually worth giving up track position?
🔶 Verstappen Is Back on Home Terrain
For the first time in five years, Max Verstappen is not in the title hunt, but Zandvoort is still his playground. The Dutchman has a phenomenal record of winning three out of the four races at the Dutch Grand Prix since its return to the race calendar, and P2 finish last season. This year, the story is different. Zandvoort is composed of medium- and low-speed corners, with a lack of long straights to cool the tires. As seen in Hungary, the RB-21 is disastrous around tracks that require a high-downforce setup and eats through tires. Unlike Silverstone, where Redbull took a gamble with setup, Zandvoort leaves little room for error.
Despite the impeccable energy of the crowd, Verstappen will face serious challenges to be back on the top step of the podium. If it rains, the MCL-39’s downforce edge only grosses, but wet races may cause a few more shakeups in the packing order.
📊 My Race Predictions
Coming back from the summer break, the championship battle is tighter than ever — only 9 points separating the McLaren duo of Piastri and Norris. The Australian driver is currently in the lead, but his teammate has been on a better run of form in the past few races. Lando Norris drove brilliantly around Zandvoort last year, winning the race by a 20+ second margin. His driving style is more suitable for the twisty characteristics of the circuit, so I do predict he will take the win here once again. But the margin between the two is very minimal. McLaren should comfortably secure another 1-2, unless Redbull and Max Verstappen pull a miracle and have a perfectly executed weekend. In the midfield, I expect Aston Martin to be strong again, as Zandvoort and Hungary share similar track characteristics.
Race Winner: 🏆 Lando Norris
Podium: 🥇Lando Norris 🥈Oscar Piastri 🥉Max Verstappen
Dark Horse: Fernando Alonso
Wildcard Prediction: A midfield gamble pays off, and someone unexpected sneaks into the top six
