You should never say 'never' in the ever-changing world of Formula 1 motor racing, but the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands has just held what is set to have been its final Dutch Grand Prix and supporting Sprint race, with McLaren’s Lando Norris winning the main event and Mercedes’ George Russell the shorter contest.

Verstappen and Red Bull had revealed last Thursday that two days earlier he had signed a new contract to remain with the Milton Keynes-based team until the end of the 2030 season, signifying that the Dutch driver hopes to remain in F1 for at least four more years and crucially with his current team, ending much speculation to the contrary. If this happens, it will set a new record for the longest time a Formula 1 F1 driver has ever remained loyal to a single team.

Zandvoort was again a sea of orange-clad fans, with so many rueing the fact that financial reasons had been the primary cause behind the lack of any new contract being sought by the venue with Formula 1 Management, at a time when many countries around the world, backed by massive government funding, are queuing up to pay vast hosting fees just to get on the F1 calendar.

As the paddock gathered following the now traditional four-week summer break, the middle two of which must be taken as holidays, Mercedes’ teenage rising star, Kimi Antonelli, arrived with a well-earned spring in his step after generating a 50 point lead in the Drivers’ Championship rankings and it could well have been even larger but for some serious bad luck. It’s still hard to believe he won’t turn 20 until a couple of days after the Grand Prix at Zandvoort and it’s equally hard to see the young Italian or his team letting this advantage slip away and deny him taking a first world title in his sophomore season in F1.

His nearest challenger is a rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton, who is one of the few drivers who actually like the 2026 cars, which force them to focus on electrical energy deployment and harvesting rather than actual race driving itself, but the 41-year-old seven-time champion has openly admitted that he and his Italian outfit are still making too many self-inflicted errors to be contenders for title success. Just to complete the post-break brief recap, Antonelli’s teammate, Russell, arrived in the Netherlands third in the Drivers’ table, 59 points adrift of his intra-team rival, and hoped a summer psychological rebuild would stop him from looking like the somewhat spent force he appeared to have become.

Isack Hadjar has had an impressive season to date for Red Bull as Verstappen’s teammate, but a gym session wrist injury, understood to have happened while boxing, forced him to miss the Dutch weekend, with New Zealand’s Liam Lawson stepping up from the Racing Bulls sister outfit to replace him. The first time that a previously demoted Red Bull driver has returned to the main team. Lawson’s promotion also led to a recall to racing duty for Red Bull’s reserve driver, Yuki Tsunoda, at Racing Bulls alongside Arvid Lindblad.

With the Dutch round including a Sprint, there was just a single free practice session on Friday, and it was Antonelli who topped the timing screens ahead of Norris. Sprint qualifying followed, and after a top ten shootout in which the margins were fine, it was Russell who claimed pole position from Norris, with Antonelli only fifth after suffering floor damage. At Zandvoort it’s easy to close on the driver ahead of you but very difficult to then overtake him, and the 24-lap Sprint encounter, which began at noon on Saturday, proved to be a relatively processional affair as Russell claimed the victory spoils ahead of Leclerc and Norris.

Kimi Antonelli had to settle for second in the Grand Prix

There was a threat of rain in the air as the subsequent qualifying hour for the main event neared its conclusion, and it was Norris who helped himself to pole ahead of Russell, Antonelli and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with the two Mercedes drivers just four hundredths of a second apart.

There was a great atmosphere around the Dutch seaside circuit on Sunday afternoon, and the formation lap for the 72-lap Grand Prix began at 15.00 local time behind the Safety Car due to the damp track conditions. Come the start, Antonelli quickly usurped Russell for second place into Turn 1, but the race was soon redflagged after Verstappen had a huge accident at the end of the opening lap. Fortunately he was able to climb out of his damaged car uninjured after apologising to his team, while the Audi duo almost had a horrendous coming together when Nico Hülkenberg narrowly managed to avoid t-boning Gabriel Bortoleto.

It took two further formation laps to get the Grand Prix underway again after a car failure for Haas’ Oliver Bearman and a feisty Antonelli quickly claimed the lead from Norris at the opening corner before starting to edge clear of the McLaren driver. After the initial pit stops, the young Italian still led from Norris and Russell, and when the second stops followed, a still-to-pit again, Hamilton led from the aforementioned trio before Norris swept past Antonelli and then Hamilton into the lead.

Following further Ferrari stops, Hamilton and Leclerc found themselves fourth and fifth behind what was to be the podium trio of Norris, Antonelli and Russell. Russell had been running second, but his ageing tyres had left him exposed and Mercedes had told him to let Antonelli past in pursuit of Norris. After a close few final laps Russell just managed to retain third despite the close attentions of Hamilton and Leclerc, with Piastri completing the top six finishers.

The outcome meant that Antonelli continues to lead the Drivers’ Championship, with Russell and Hamilton both 59 points behind him, while Mercedes remain comfortably ahead in the Constructors’ standings.

The season continues in a fortnight’s time at the legendary Autodromo Nationale Monza, located just outside the Italian city of Milan and long known as The Temple of Speed due to its high velocity nature. The passionate local fans may well favour Ferrari as a team, but they are also very much hoping that Antonelli, clearly a once in a generation talent, might secure a first Drivers’ title for an Italian since Alberto Ascari achieved the feat back in 1952 and 1953.



2026 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix
1 Lando Norris (McLaren) 2hrs4m44.859s
2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +11.536s
3 George Russell (Mercedes) +15.906s
4 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +16.755s
5 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +17.258s
6 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +32.332s
7 Liam Lawson (Red Bull) +1m19.915s
8 Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) Lapped
9 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) Lapped
10 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Lapped
11 Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) Lapped
12 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) Lapped
13 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) Lapped
14 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Lapped
15 Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) Lapped
16 Carlos Sainz (Williams) Lapped
17 Alex Albon (Williams) Retired
18 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) Retired
19 Esteban Ocon (Haas) Retired
20 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Retired
21 Oliver Bearman (Haas) Retired
22 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) Retired



2026 Formula 1 Dutch Sprint Race
1 George Russell (Mercedes) 40m25.318s
2 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1.360s
3 Lando Norris (McLaren) +5.196s
4 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +5.581s
5 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +10.185s
6 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +10.529s
7 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +12.188s
8 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +42.510s
9 Garbriel Bortoleto (Audi) +44.437s
10 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +44.971s
11 Liam Lawson (Red Bull) +47.471s
12 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +54.466s
13 Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) +56.483s
14 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1m6.098s
15 Oliver Bearman (Haas) +1m6.588s
16 Alex Albon (Williams) +1m14.632s
17 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1m14.650s
18 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1m15.248s
19 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) Lapped
20 Carlos Sainz (Williams) Lapped
21 Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) Lapped
22 Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) Retired



2026 Drivers’ Championship
1 Kimi Antonelli 242
2 George Russell 183
3 Lewis Hamilton 183

2026 Constructors’ Championship
1 Mercedes 425
2 Ferrari 338
3 McLaren 263