Norris won the farewell race of the 2026 Dutch GP

Lando Norris won the 2026 Dutch GP race in very good style, which was a farewell to the Zandvoort circuit from Formula 1. The competition started with a red flag after a serious crash involving Max Verstappen, and the race itself was marked by strategic battles.

Read more Analysis of qualifications before the 2026 Dutch GP

Heavy rain appeared at Zandvoort about 40 minutes before the race started. The rainfall was quite heavy but also very short. Drivers went to the starting grid on intermediate tires, but at the start, everyone already had slicks because the asphalt had time to dry. During the race, we had a red flag after the first lap due to Verstappen’s crash, and during the competition, there were two short periods of virtual safety car. Six drivers did not finish the race.

Results of the 2026 Dutch GP race

Verstappen’s crash and red flag at the start of the race

All drivers started on tires intended for dry surfaces because the track had almost completely dried. Due to Russell’s poor start, the front was very tight, drivers had to make sudden moves, but all defended themselves and there was no serious crash. Only Hamilton’s car was slightly damaged after contact with Verstappen. The competition lasted only one lap because Verstappen had a serious crash in the last corner, where he went onto a wet curb and lost control of the car. A red flag appeared immediately, and we had nearly a 30-minute break. Just behind the Dutchman, Gabriel Bortoleto made a similar mistake but spun 360 degrees and controlled the car. The Dutchman’s crash was serious, most of the car was destroyed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if also some power unit components were damaged.

Norris vs Antonelli battle for victory

Kimi Antonelli gained one position at the start and another after the red flag restart. The Italian took the lead ahead of Norris and fought with him for the win. For most of the distance, Antonelli led, and Norris was right behind him. They made their first real pit stops on the same lap, so no position change occurred between them. During the second stint, when both had hard tires, Norris stayed very close and pressured but had no real chance to overtake. Mercedes decided to secure against a possible undercut and called Antonelli for another set of tires quickly, already on lap 40. Norris stayed on track seven laps longer, wanting to have a tire advantage at the end. Antonelli performed poorly on the second set of hard tires; his lap times were average, and he had clear problems. Norris left the pit lane 5 seconds behind him but reduced that to 2 seconds within two laps. He quickly caught up with the Italian and prepared to attack. He made an impressive overtaking maneuver using Hamilton, who was on a different strategy. Norris passed Antonelli on the outside of the first corner and then quickly overtook Hamilton without a fight. From that moment, Lando Norris completely controlled the race, driving fastest in clean air. If not for losing position at the restart from the grid, Norris would have completely dominated this race because his pace advantage was noticeable.

Antonelli changed tires again at the very end using VSC but had no chance to catch Norris. Norris on hard tires was only slightly slower than Antonelli on softs. After this tire change, the Italian dropped to third but quickly caught Russell, who let him pass without problems following team orders. Mercedes played this very smartly from the team perspective.

Interesting battle for third place

Four drivers fought for the last podium spot with varying success and different strategies. Strange things happened at the restart because Oscar Piastri on hard tires gained two positions, largely spoiling the race for Russell and Ferrari drivers. Piastri was slower than the two leaders in the early phase due to tires and thus slowed down the rest of the field. This situation forced a very quick pit stop for Russell, who gained a few seconds and moved up to third, undercutting Piastri. Mercedes mainly outplayed Ferrari drivers with this move, who started the race on soft tires and planned early pit stops. They failed to do so, so Leclerc changed tires four laps later, and Hamilton only eight laps later. This situation forced Ferrari drivers to push hard and make up distance to rivals. They managed to catch and overtake Piastri over the distance. The McLaren driver fell out of the podium fight; he was simply too slow. The team took a risk with his strategy, but it did not pay off. Piastri finally finished sixth – no man’s land.

Russell also made his second pit stop very quickly (on lap 40 together with Antonelli), again securing his position on track. The Briton was third, but his pace was not great. Behind him, there was tension in Ferrari because Hamilton caught Leclerc, but the team did not decide to issue an order to let him pass. Hamilton lost 2-3 seconds because of this before Leclerc changed tires on lap 43. Leclerc came out more than 6 seconds behind Russell, whom he chased intensely in the following laps. Hamilton stayed on track very long, changing tires only on lap 55 using VSC. Then Leclerc and Piastri also changed tires, and Antonelli on the next lap. All got soft tires. At the end, there was a chase for Russell, who let Antonelli pass following team orders. Later Hamilton caught him and prepared several attacks. When he was in the best position, another VSC appeared, preventing the attack. There was one more chance at the end, but it was very close.

We saw this before the holidays in Hungary, and in the Netherlands, we had confirmation that Mercedes was overtaken by McLaren. It had to happen because McLaren is intensively developing the car, while Mercedes brings only small upgrades. Additionally, these were twisty tracks, which this year’s Mercedes does not like, preferring those with long straights. Mercedes is expected to have its big upgrade package only at the beginning of October at the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, so the next three race weekends are about minimizing losses for them. A double podium in the Netherlands is a great result considering this. McLaren now has very big ambitions; they are also preparing their own big upgrade package (earlier, in Azerbaijan), so they should regularly be in the fight for podiums and wins.

Ferrari drivers had great pace in this race, showing it at various moments, but they did not achieve a podium. They lacked a bit of luck, perfectionism, and team fighting. The key issue is that Ferrari’s race pace is again better than qualifying pace. They started from the third row on a track where overtaking is difficult, so for a long distance, they drove behind rivals, unable to fully show their capabilities. At the start of the season, they compensated with good starts, but rivals caught up. Ferrari must have better starting positions to think about winning races. They also need to establish clear team rules about when drivers let each other pass and when they fight.

Overview of other important results

Liam Lawson spent practically the whole race in seventh position. The front group pulled away from him (about 1 second per lap), and the rest of the field was no threat. The New Zealander can be satisfied with himself because he made no mistakes and brought solid points for Red Bull. It was hard to expect him to fight for a higher position in his debut in this race.

Read more Russell won the procession sprint before the 2026 Dutch GP

Nico Hulkenberg narrowly avoided spinning Bortoleto on the first lap and finished eighth in the race. The German showed very good pace, driving safely in that position for much of the race. The key laps were after the second start, where he gained three positions. The strategy was good, as was the pace.

Fernando Alonso performed excellently, finishing ninth. The Spaniard steadily gained positions. The key was a one-stop strategy and race pace. Aston Martin looks much better compared to rivals than in qualifying. Alonso was even able to fight rivals with better engines. The Spaniard drove more than half the distance on one set of soft tires, maintaining good pace throughout. Changes at Aston Martin brought noticeable results.

Pierre Gasly scored one point after a tough race. The Frenchman should have finished higher because he was eighth at the start but dropped to 13th after a pit stop. He was close to several rivals, losing time because everyone was close there, and there was a fight. Eventually, he managed to break free but could not attack Alonso at the end, even though he was right behind him.

Just outside the points finished Yuki Tsunoda, who deserves considerable praise after this weekend. He showed good pace and made no mistakes. He was very close to scoring a point. Arvid Lindblad fell out of the points fight after receiving a drive-through penalty early in the race for an infraction during yellow flags. The Briton later recovered most of the losses but did not score points.

Both Haas drivers retired from the race due to problems with Ferrari power units. Stroll retired due to car problems, having some damage from the start. Bottas retired due to a hydraulic failure related to the rear wing actuation mechanism. Perez had the same failure on Saturday.

Williams is literally at the bottom. Not only is their pace poor, but there was also a collision between drivers at the end. Sainz was 100% to blame here, but Albon retired due to damage from the race. Sainz finished last, which says a lot about the team’s form.

Current overall standings after the Dutch GP can be found here. At the top, Russell and Norris gained one position each at the expense of Ferrari drivers.

Summary

The farewell to the Zandvoort circuit was quite interesting, thanks to varied strategies and several surprising events. The Saturday sprint was terrible in terms of emotions, but the Sunday race was much better. I will not miss this track at all. The qualifying was interesting there, and the whole atmosphere related to the location and fans is nice, but this track is simply too twisty for F1 (and other series as well). There is very little classic direct racing on it. Even new cars and power units did not help.

In two weeks, we have the Italian GP at Monza. Several teams are preparing upgrade packages there, Ferrari will have an improved engine, and several drivers will receive penalties for extra power unit elements (including Antonelli). Monza promises to be the worst track for new power units. Electric energy will be lacking at the end of practically every straight. It may be a strange weekend with a one-time different balance of power.

Read more Russell fastest in sprint qualifying before the 2026 Dutch GP