Lando Norris claimed his second consecutive Formula 1 victory on Sunday, August 23, winning a chaotic and rain-affected Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort that saw home favourite Max Verstappen crash out just one lap into the race, in what marked Formula 1’s final visit to the circuit after its contract was not renewed.
Norris converted pole position into the race lead at the start, but the action was halted almost immediately when Verstappen lost the rear of his Red Bull and hit the wall heavily, triggering a red flag. The Dutchman later confirmed he was unhurt. When racing resumed, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli produced a flying start to snatch the lead from Norris and stretched out an advantage as the race progressed, before Norris fought his way back through in the final third to reclaim the position and ultimately take the chequered flag.
Antonelli held on for second, with teammate George Russell completing the podium in third after successfully fending off a late charge from the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps. Hamilton finished fourth, narrowly ahead of Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in fifth, the two coming close to making contact on the run to Turn 5 on the final lap as they battled to hold position. Oscar Piastri completed the top six for McLaren, some 15 seconds behind the lead battle, while Liam Lawson finished seventh for Red Bull despite a 10-second penalty for a yellow-flag infringement.
Norris, speaking after the race, admitted the win had come as something of a surprise given how the afternoon had unfolded. He said he’d struggled badly with pace and balance on the soft tyre through the first half of the race, to the point where victory hadn’t felt realistic, but that switching to the hard compound transformed the car, giving him the comfort and pace to put pressure on Mercedes and force an early pit stop that ultimately opened the door for McLaren’s win. He credited the team’s strategy as decisive, saying it gave him the chance to attack on fresh tyres while Antonelli was tied up battling Hamilton, and that committing to the outside of Turn 1 was the move that sealed the victory.
The result marks McLaren’s third consecutive Dutch Grand Prix victory, following wins from both drivers in 2024 and 2025, and further strengthens Norris’s position in what remains a mathematically narrow but increasingly serious title challenge, having now won back-to-back races following his victory in Hungary. Kimi Antonelli continues to lead the overall championship standings by a commanding margin over Lewis Hamilton heading into the final stretch of the season.
Zandvoort’s farewell to the F1 calendar, following genuine financial constraints behind the decision not to renew its contract, was widely seen as a fitting send-off for a circuit celebrated for its unique banked corners and passionate crowds. Formula 1 now heads into a scheduled break before resuming at the Italian Grand Prix, running September 4-6.