F1 Dutch GP: Five quick takeaways

Norris’ championship takes a huge hit

It wasn’t the weekend Lando Norris was hoping for. Zandvoort has usually been “his” territory, but Oscar Piastri stepped up massively — not only compared to the last two years, but also across this weekend — and was on course to extend his lead with another victory.

Instead, Norris’ race ended a few laps before the chequered flag, and the gap suddenly ballooned to over 30 points.

With Piastri in such strong form this season, Norris’ title challenge now looks a very difficult task. Closing that deficit would require him to win a large share of the remaining races, and given Norris’ own inconsistency, it’s fair to say Piastri is now the clear favourite.

– Oleg Karpov

Impressive Hadjar adds more pressure on Tsunoda

While Red Bull is still undecided on whether to convince Alex Palou to switch to F1 in 2026, Max Verstappen’s team-mate next year will most likely come from its current pool of drivers. At Zandvoort, Helmut Marko made it clear that Yuki Tsunoda has until the Mexican GP to prove he deserves that seat — but weekends like this one don’t help his case.

Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

Instead, the standout was once again rookie Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman produced what he called the “lap of his life” to qualify a remarkable fourth, behind only Verstappen and the two McLarens, and then backed it up in the race by holding position ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes.

A podium gifted by Lando Norris’ retirement was the cherry on top of a near-perfect weekend for the Frenchman.

A Red Bull seat in 2025 might still be seen as a poisoned chalice, but with new regulations coming in 2026, a promotion could become a far more attractive opportunity for a driver who will already have a full season under his belt.

– Jose Carlos de Celis

Hamilton’s misery at Ferrari continues with solo crash

Lewis Hamilton looked upbeat on Saturday after qualifying seventh, just 0.050s behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, and seemed ready to build on that after a miserable Hungarian GP before the summer break.

But his race ended in the worst possible way. As light rain began to fall, the seven-time champion oversteered on the paint at the banked Turn 3. He caught the initial slide but clipped the barrier with the front-right, unable to steer left in time to avoid the impact.

It marked Hamilton’s first DNF as a Ferrari driver — and another blow to his confidence. The positive is that Monza is up next, a race Ferrari always highlights on the calendar and a track where Hamilton shares the record of five wins with Michael Schumacher.

A victory there may be a long shot, but it could be exactly what saves Hamilton’s first season at Ferrari.

– Federico Faturos

Dutch GP a perfect summary of Antonelli’s rookie season

When asked in Zandvoort whether Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s debut F1 campaign may have come a year too soon, Toto Wolff paused before answering: “I don’t think so. And there was no other intelligent option for me, because when Lewis decided to go to Ferrari, it was almost… things fell in place.”

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Wolff admitted he always expected Antonelli’s first season to be a rollercoaster: “What I said before the beginning of the season is there are going to be races where we tear our hair out because of the mistakes, and there are going to be races where we will be in awe of his talent.”

Both sides of that assessment were on display at Zandvoort. Antonelli looked on course for an impressive recovery drive, but two rookie errors proved costly — a penalty for an over-optimistic move on Charles Leclerc, followed by another for speeding in the pitlane.

It was a neat reflection of his year so far: flashes of brilliance, as seen in Miami and Canada, offset by rookie mistakes like those in Austria and the Netherlands. As Wolff summed up: “He is our long-term future.”

– Ronald Vording

F1 will miss Zandvoort, but not that much…

It’s a shame Formula 1 won’t return to Zandvoort after next year, at least for the foreseeable future. It’s a proper old-school circuit that drivers enjoy – and the number of offs in first practice, with drivers a bit rusty after the summer break, underlined how much of a challenge it is. There aren’t many tracks like that left on the calendar.

But those tracks come with a cost. Narrow, twisty and flowing layouts aren’t well-suited to today’s heavy, wide cars that are so sensitive to dirty air. As a result, overtaking is becoming more and more of a problem.

Fans

Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 / Getty Images

Organisers did a lot of work to update Zandvoort before its F1 return, and the banked corners did help a little, but not enough. The FIA even raised the pitlane speed limit to try and encourage two-stop strategies, but Pirelli’s calculations still showed a one-stopper as the preferred option – with track position far too important.

We’ll never know how the race would have unfolded without the safety cars, but most likely it would have been a procession. There was plenty of evidence that making a clean overtake is tough here. Without a big tyre delta, wheel-banging is often the only way through.

Yes, 2023 produced the race with the most overtakes in F1 history – but that was because of the weather, not the circuit itself. Zandvoort will certainly be missed for its unique orange-party atmosphere, but if it makes way for tracks that deliver more spectacular racing, it’s probably not the worst outcome.

– Oleg Karpov