Dutch GP: Standing start or rolling start? All eyes on the sky as Piastri heads a McLaren front row
Zandvoort might be about to deliver the first truly wet launch of a Dutch Grand Prix since the seaside circuit rejoined the calendar in 2021 — and Oscar Piastri’s record-breaking pole has only sharpened the knife-edge.
After a messy Silverstone and a processional Spa, the North Sea has rolled in with a plan. The FIA’s race-day forecast points to a 40% chance of rain at lights out (3pm local), rising to around 60% through the 72-lap race. The headline question isn’t just tyres; it’s format. Do we go grid and gamble, or tiptoe into it behind the Safety Car?
That call sits with FIA race director Rui Marques, who’ll weigh up two things above all: standing water and visibility. If he deems the surface wet but workable, expect the standard formation procedure and a standing start. If spray and puddles cross the line, he’ll send them for formation laps behind the Safety Car and either flip the boards to “SS” for a late switch to a grid start — or keep it as a rolling start if the track doesn’t clear enough.
Marques’ caution got a public stress test at Belgium’s last wet encounter, where the start was delayed 80 minutes before a rolling launch. It wasn’t universally popular, but pole-sitter Lando Norris backed the call at the time: “It was bad for me up front. I can only imagine how much worse it was for the guys further back.” If Zandvoort wakes up soaked, expect a similar playbook.
For now, the working assumption in the paddock is that light showers shouldn’t prevent a standing start. Which makes the front row fascinating. Piastri stunned the field with a lap stuffed to the seams with commitment, pipping Norris and demoting Max Verstappen — a three-time Dutch Grand Prix winner — to third on home soil. Verstappen and Zandvoort have been inseparable since the track’s return, but he’ll be trying to punch into Turn 1 from the second row with a pair of papaya cars blocking his line of sight, and potentially a wall of spray in his visor.
The nuances matter. In marginal conditions, a standing start can be a launch lottery — how much wet patch do you get under your rear tyres? Who nails the clutch bite? And who dares to stick with slicks if the grid is merely damp rather than wet? A rolling start cleans up the chaos but hands strategic initiative to the pit walls, at least until a dry line appears and the undercut becomes a weapon. If the rain dances in and out, the early laps could be defined by drivers who read the grip, not those who nailed a quali banker.
Worth remembering, too, how the rules flow if Sunday starts wet. After one or more laps behind the Safety Car, race control can switch from rolling to standing — you’ll see “SS” instead of “RS” on the FIA panels — and the field will then peel back onto the grid for the normal launch sequence. If it stays “RS,” no overtaking is allowed until the leader crosses the line with green flags flying. Anyone slated to start from the pit lane must rejoin there and wait until the pack has gone by before they can join. It’s fussy, but it’s become familiar.
The human side of it is more compelling. Piastri’s Saturday was as clean as you like; Sunday asks another question. Norris, just alongside, will be thinking championship arithmetic and first-corner geometry. Verstappen knows this place better than anyone — and knows that when Zandvoort is slick, bravery counts double.
One more wrinkle: if the rain intensifies after lights out, pit-wall reflexes will be everything. A lap late to intermediates, a lap early to slicks, and you’re a sitting duck. Expect the leaders to protect against the undercut and pack the gaps, and those outside the top five to throw dice at the first whiff of a crossover.
So, standing start or rolling start? On paper, the forecast leans towards a standard getaway. In practice, it’ll be decided by puddles and perception in the 15 minutes before showtime. Either way, Zandvoort’s dunes are set to be loud, the opening laps nervy, and the margin for error small.
Front-row McLaren versus the home king in changeable conditions. Sunday could be spicy.
