Lap two, and the home crowd went quiet
Max Verstappen put a wheel over the white line on the main straight, lost the rear of the Red Bull and buried it in the barrier. Red flag. He climbed out unhurt. His home weekend was finished before it had properly started.
Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix from pole, 11″536 clear of Kimi Antonelli. George Russell took the last podium place.
It was not a straight cruise. Antonelli got the better launch at the restart and went past Norris, then led for most of the afternoon. Norris reeled him back in during the final stint and took the lead again at Turn 1.
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Mercedes ask Russell to move, and he lets them know
A virtual safety car for Esteban Ocon’s stop scrambled the order. Antonelli came in for softs. On lap 65 Mercedes told Russell to let his team-mate by. He did it, then got on the radio to say they had probably just given away a one-two.
He still kept third, by under a second, from Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc was fifth, half a tenth off his team-mate, which will not have improved anyone’s mood at Ferrari. Oscar Piastri sixth. Liam Lawson, in for Isack Hadjar at Red Bull, rescued seventh despite a 10-second penalty for not lifting under yellows.
Antonelli still leads, and the gap is doing the talking
A second win in a row lifts Norris to 159 points. Antonelli sits on 242, 59 ahead of Russell and Hamilton, who are now level with each other. “Probably one of my best wins. We had to fight for it, but the pace was strong,” Norris said afterwards.
Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly rounded out the points. The retirement sheet was long: Albon, Bottas, Ocon, Stroll, Bearman, Verstappen.
This was the last time Formula 1 races at Zandvoort, the contract having gone unrenewed. Two weeks off now, then Monza from 4 to 6 September.
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