Dutch GP 2026: Norris wins, Mercedes wave Antonelli past Russell

Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on 23 August from pole position, 11.5 seconds ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. It was his second win in a row after Hungary, and he had to earn it: he lost the lead at the restart and had to pass Antonelli on track with less than 20 laps to go. George Russell finished third for Mercedes after being told to let his team-mate through.

Red flag, restart and how Norris retook the lead

Rain before the start left the track damp, and the opening lap ended with Max Verstappen in the wall. He lost the rear of his Red Bull in the final sector and hit the barrier hard. He was unhurt, but the debris brought out the red flag. Behind him, Gabriel Bortoleto spun his Audi and only just missed his team-mate Nico Hülkenberg.

The standing restart needed an extra formation lap after Oliver Bearman's Haas stopped with an engine problem. When it finally went, Antonelli took the inside line into Turn 1 and led. Norris stayed out seven laps longer than the Mercedes pair before his second stop and rejoined third, about five seconds behind the Mercedes. On fresher tyres he closed fast. On lap 54 he went around the outside of Antonelli into Turn 1, then passed Lewis Hamilton, who was leading on old tyres, a few corners later.

A virtual safety car for Esteban Ocon's stopped Haas let Antonelli pit for softs, and he rejoined behind Russell. With the tyre advantage he caught his team-mate, and Mercedes told Russell to swap places in the closing laps. Russell questioned the call briefly, complied, then held off Hamilton for third by less than a second. Norris was never troubled again.

Antonelli vs Russell: a duel settled by the pit wall

Saturday belonged to Russell. He won the sprint and out-qualified Antonelli by 0.043% of a lap. Sunday went to Antonelli, and on F1 Duels their head-to-head now reads 7–5 in qualifying and 6–4 in races for the Italian. Russell admitted his team-mate would have got past on the new tyres anyway, so the order was logical. It also means the championship leader is beating the only driver with the same car, which is the harder half of the job.

Hamilton vs Leclerc, Norris vs Piastri

Ferrari's afternoon was untidy. Hamilton complained on the radio about being used as a "guinea pig" with his tyre choice, and Leclerc at first ignored a call to pit, which cost him time. They finished fourth and fifth, half a second apart, Hamilton ahead. He had also out-qualified Leclerc by 0.090%, so the Ferrari duel went his way twice and now stands at 5–7 in qualifying and 6–5 in races in our count.

At McLaren the gap was larger. Norris beat Oscar Piastri by 0.200% in qualifying, and Piastri's race fell apart on hard tyres: a slow stop, then passes from both Ferraris, and sixth place, 32 seconds behind. Norris leads their season duel 8–4 on Saturdays and 4–3 on Sundays.

Further back, Liam Lawson, standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar alongside Verstappen, was seventh despite a 10-second penalty for a yellow flag offence. Hülkenberg finished eighth after passing three cars in three corners in the midfield, while Bortoleto, who had out-qualified him by half a percent, came home 13th after his spin. Fernando Alonso went from 18th on the grid to ninth on a one-stop strategy. The full set of teammate verdicts is on our Dutch GP duel page.

What it means for the championship

Antonelli leaves Zandvoort on 242 points, 59 clear of Russell and Hamilton, who are tied on 183 after 12 rounds. Norris is fourth, 83 points behind the leader., but he arrives at the next round with two straight wins.