Lando Norris takes victory at dramatic final Dutch Grand Prix

McLaren’s Lando Norris has claimed back-to-back wins as the Dutch Grand Prix takes on its final event on the Formula 1 calendar.

Feature image credit: Pirelli

On both sides of the summer break, the defending world champion, Norris, has claimed back-to-back victories, backing up his first win of the season at Hungary with a win at the Zandvoort circuit.

The McLaren driver becomes the second driver in the Netherlands event, since its return, to win more than one grand prix at the seaside circuit. The only other driver to win more than once at the Dutch Grand Prix was Red Bull’s home hero, Max Verstappen.

Norris took pole position, denying Russell the top grid spot on Saturday, and the defending world champion managed to get away on the first start as the Mercedes championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, slipped past his teammate, George Russell. However, the race was quickly red-flagged.

Due to rain that had fallen before the race start, which raised the question of starting on slicks or wets, the track was still damp. As the first lap got underway, Verstappen lost control and crashed into the barrier, retiring on the spot with significant damage to his car.

Max Verstappen suffers big crash at Dutch Grand Prix

Once the race got back underway, Norris quickly lost track position to Antonelli into the opening corner, with Russell dropping to fourth overall after McLaren’s Oscar Piastri made an ambitious move into turn seven, going down the inside of the Mercedes #63.

With Hamilton being left out after the second pit-stop sequence, after both Mercedes and Norris pitted for their scheduled stops, Hamilton and Antonelli were put under immense pressure by Norris, with the defending world champion dispatching both drivers.

With Norris edging out in front, the virtual safety car was deployed on lap 55, thanks to Haas’ Esteban Ocon retiring on the exit of turn three. Antonelli and both Ferrari’s of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc boxed for a set of soft tyres, amongst the leading runners, whilst Norris and Russell continued out on their hard compounds.

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Antonelli quickly picked up to the back of Russell, which the Briton was told to invert the cars. Despite disagreeing with the call, the #63 Mercedes obeyed and allowed Antonelli to pass into turn one. As Hamilton was also charging up behind on softs, Russell had ruled out the possibility of a double podium finish.

Just before the end, on lap 70, as Hamilton was sizing up a move on Russell, the VSC was deployed once more due to debris, halting the Ferrari attack on Russell.

Norris took the chequered flag to win back-to-back races ahead of Antonelli, who continues to extend his lead out front against his closest championship rivals, with Russell’s third place elevating him back up to second place in the drivers’ championship, dropping Hamilton to third after finishing fourth.

Whilst the 2026 edition of the Dutch Grand Prix brings another chapter in the Netherlands to an end, the dramatic F1 season will continue on. The Italian Grand Prix is next up on the calendar and will take place at the beginning of September, from the fourth to the sixth of the month.

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.