Dutch GP: 5 big questions that need answers at Zandvoort

The Dutch Grand Prix takes place this weekend at Zandvoort as the Orange Army looks forward to welcoming home their world champion.

Max Verstappen took victory in front of a vociferous home crowd here last year at Zandvoort and, on the back of a stunning victory at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend, he’ll be aiming to repeat the feat come Sunday.

What are the big questions that need answers going into the weekend, then? We take a closer look…

Can anyone stop Max?

Verstappen was simply unstoppable last Sunday at Spa and the way that it felt so inevitable among the other drivers highlighted just how strong he is at the moment.

Of course, the Red Bull car was perfectly suited to the Spa circuit and that helped him but his performance was still sublime, and he will be hard to beat this weekend.

Can anyone get in his way on home turf? Time will tell.

Will Ferrari be closer to Red Bull?

Carlos Sainz said at the end of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend that he was hopeful that Ferrari would be closer to Red Bull this weekend than at Spa, and so we’ll see if that comes to pass for the Scuderia.

The Spaniard took third place in Belgium and felt as though that was the best he was going to get, despite starting from pole, highlighting how off of the pace the Ferrari was compared to the Red Bull.

He and Charles Leclerc will be hoping for better this weekend.

Can McLaren hit back at Alpine?

McLaren will feel even keener to get going this weekend after a very poor Spa for them.

They saw neither driver score any points whilst their rivals for fourth in the championship, Alpine, scored double points and good ones at that, with Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon finishing P5 and P7 respectively.

Alpine have the advantage, then, and McLaren need