F1 2021 Zandvoort GP Setup Guide

Our F1 2021 Zandvoort Setup Guide

It’s crazy to think, at the time of writing this, we still haven’t had a race at the legendary Zandvoort track since it was re-introduced onto the Formula 1 calendar.

It is a track which was so heavily promoted by Formula 1 when it’s contracted was officially signed. But due to the pandemic, it has been delayed to 2021.

Zandvoort is a track which is narrow in places, extremely fast in other areas, and overall a very tricky yet fun track to race around. You require a high downforce setup with an emphasis on stability to be able to put in competitive performances at the Dutch Grand Prix.

This setup guide is designed to produce a very race-able and easy to drive car, and one which will be very competitive during a long race.

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Aerodynamics

Jumping in to our aero setup, it is surprising that for a track so fast, you need a surprising amount of downforce. I have setup my car with 10 – 10 wings. This approach will give you extremely good grip through the windy corners at Zandvoort, and you will be especially competitive through the middle sector of the lap.

Some car setups opt for 11 – 11 wings, however you will really feel the downside of this down the long pit straight and all the way through the first sector. As you will lose a little top end speed. In my experience, lowering this a touch will produce a better overall lap time.

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Transmission

As most corners are medium speed sweeping turns, I’ve gone for a high on-throttle differential of 82. This will push your car through the corners allowing you to maintain a high minimum speed and will give you great acceleration out of each turn.

Then go for a relatively high off-throttle differential of 66. I say high, as many setups for other tracks use an off-throttle diff of lower than 60. You don’t need as much low speed rotation around Zandvoort, so a higher off-throttle diff is OK.

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Suspension Geometry

For the suspension geometry I’ve actually opted for a relatively low camber setup. I’ve gone for -2.8 at the front and -1.3 for the rear camber. Then, just like many setups I’ve lowered both toe values. The front is set at 0.07 and the rear toe is right on the minimum value of 0.2.

This setup gives good stability while looking after the tyres throughout a race distance. Your tyres will be lent on a lot throughout the fast sweeping corners, so looking after them throughout a race is very important.

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Suspension

Like many tracks, I’ve gone for a soft front suspension. You will be hitting a lot of high kerbs at Zandvoort, so having a car which can handle these is important. Go for 2 at the front and slightly higher at the rear of 5.

For the anti-roll bars I have heavily prioritsed stability at medium to high speed. I’ve setup the front anti-roll bar to 7 and the rear to 2. This will give you a car which is incredibly stable under acceleration. This is crucial for the high speed corners such as turns 7 and 14. If you run too stiff at the rear, you will find yourself losing stability through these corners.

Then go for a ride height of 2 and 6. This is pretty aggressive and low, although is just about as low as you could possibly run around Zandvoort.

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Brakes

For the brakes, I’ve kept the same brake pressure from our Belgium setup of 97% for good stopping power. Then I’ve lowered the brake bias a touch towards being more balanced at 56%.

This will give you a solid braking platform without any risk of either front or rear locking.

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Tyres

For the tyres, I’ve gone away from running maximum pressures like many setups do around Zandvoort. Instead, a lower set of tyre pressures will go towards helping preserve your tyre wear throughout a full race distance.

Go for 23.8 on both fronts, and 22.7 on both rears. It may be beneficial to offset your tyre pressures with slightly lower left tyre pressures to compensate for excess heat generated on the left of the car due to the many right handers.

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And that rounds out our F1 2021 Zandvoort setup. This will result in an extremely stable car to drive which can be hard to come by around the Netherlands in F1 2021. By focusing on stability, you should be able to attack the entire Zandvoort track without running the risk of exchanging out right speed for a loose or unstable car.

View all of our most recent F1 2021 setups, by visiting our F1 2021 car setups page.

See you on track guys.

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F1 2021 Zandvoort Setup Guide Video