Norris and McLaren are nonetheless alive and effectively
Lando Norris is the final one that wants a reminder of what can occur within the second half of the championship. On the scene of his worst heartbreak in 2025, when Norris’ championship seemed lifeless and buried after a retirement, the defending champion is now the hunter as soon as extra after utilizing an upgraded McLaren to start out chipping away on the lead of Kimi Antonelli.
Norris backed up a primary win of the marketing campaign in Hungary with pole within the Netherlands, although McLaren’s comparatively poor future tempo within the dash dampened expectations within the grand prix correct.
In a chaotic opening section, Norris misplaced his result in Antonelli on lap 2’s standing restart. However on smooth tyres, the Briton stayed inside hanging distance and seemed imperious as soon as the frontrunners switched to the exhausting compound.
On lap 54 of 72 Norris swept across the outdoors of a defending Antonelli into Flip 1, earlier than dispatching Lewis Hamilton – who had but to cease – on the again straight to take the lead of the race, which he would comfortably retain till the end.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Picture by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Pictures by way of Getty Pictures
Norris’ second consecutive win introduced his hole to Antonelli down from 90 to 83 factors, which continues to be an enormous margin. However few will argue the 26-year-old has hit a wealthy vein of type, whereas McLaren’s rolling automobile improvement has turned its MCL40 into a possible serial winner. When will Mercedes be capable of reply with its personal improve bundle?
– Filip Cleeren
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Lawson made essentially the most of his sudden Purple Bull return
We are able to’t know for sure, however it will hardly be stunning if Liam Lawson had hoped that, after being instructed he would lose his Purple Bull seat following final 12 months’s Chinese language Grand Prix, simply two races into the season, life may at some point give him one other probability to measure himself towards Max Verstappen as his team-mate.
Nearly a 12 months and a half later, and having rebuilt his status with a powerful return to Racing Bulls, that probability arrived when Isack Hadjar suffered a wrist harm, and Lawson grabbed it with each fingers.
He took issues steadily on Friday, however got here alive on Saturday with a wonderful qualifying efficiency — given the fact of Purple Bull’s 2026 automobile — to take eighth, simply behind Verstappen and solely 0.115s away. Sure, Zandvoort is a comparatively quick lap, however Hadjar had solely been inside that margin of the Dutchman on three events this 12 months, throughout the 12 instances he was outqualified by Verstappen.
Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson, Purple Bull Racing
Picture by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Pictures by way of Getty Pictures
Verstappen’s crash shortly after the beginning left Lawson main Purple Bull’s effort. Whereas he couldn’t match the tempo of the highest six, the New Zealander delivered a strong race to complete a lonely seventh.
It received’t earn him a everlasting return to Purple Bull, and his Racing Bulls future for 2027 stays unsure. However Lawson made essentially the most of his sudden second probability — and could have put himself again on the radar of different groups.
– Federico Faturos
Yuki Tsunoda narrowly misses prime 10 on sudden F1 return
Going up towards Verstappen once more at Purple Bull was a tall order for Lawson, however Yuki Tsunoda confronted a fair harder problem.
Standing in for Lawson at Racing Bulls, the reserve driver had by no means pushed 2026-spec Components 1 equipment, which is dramatically completely different from final 12 months’s in each space – notably the novel vitality administration necessities.
Tsunoda unsurprisingly lagged behind spectacular rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad by over eight tenths within the weekend’s sole free observe session however regularly decreased his deficit to about 4 tenths in dash qualifying and one hundredth to 1 tenth in the primary qualifying session.
Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls
Picture by: Alastair Staley / LAT Pictures by way of Getty Pictures
The Japanese racer then carried out a convincing drive from twelfth on the grid. He seemingly didn’t put a foot mistaken, even with two standing begins to deal with, and carried out a panoramic transfer on Alpine’s Pierre Gasly on his technique to eleventh place beneath the chequered flag.
Lindblad getting a drive-through penalty early on for a yellow-flag infringement makes the comparability tough, however Tsunoda nonetheless did effectively, and it will be attention-grabbing to see what he makes of a possible second outing if Hadjar’s restoration occurs to be slower than deliberate.
– Ben Vinel
No fairytale Dutch GP ending after Verstappen crash
There was as soon as a time the place victory on the Dutch Grand Prix for Verstappen appeared as assured as a victory could be for a Premier League facet towards one from the fourth division. The Purple Bull driver received three on the bounce at his residence race from 2021 to 2023 and through that interval of Verstappen dominance, there was nothing stopping him.
However then got here McLaren, who respectively ended that streak in 2024 and 2025 by way of Norris and Oscar Piastri, but 2026 provided one remaining alternative for Verstappen to as soon as once more style residence success as Zandvoort is ready to drop off the F1 calendar.
Crashed automobile of Purple Bull Racing’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen
Picture by: Anni Graf – Components 1 by way of Getty Pictures
But the fairytale ending wasn’t to be, as Verstappen crashed on the opening lap in entrance of the ‘Orange Military’. The four-time world champion was by no means actually in competition anyway, as he completed sixth within the dash race and began Sunday’s grand prix in seventh.
He reckons the circuit uncovered the weaknesses of the RB22, which endured stability issues on the seaside venue. Not what he would have hoped for given, a, it was his residence race and in addition, b, it being the weekend he has signed a brand new contract.
Verstappen now has 11 extra possibilities to cease 2026 from being his first winless season since becoming a member of Purple Bull in 2016.
– Ed Hardy
Honda’s new engine will not be sufficient to spark Aston Martin’s revival
After Aston Martin’s main automobile improve in Hungary simply earlier than the summer time break, the Silverstone-based staff had hoped Honda’s new energy unit would ship as huge a step ahead because the chassis appeared to have made. Nevertheless, it quickly turned clear that Honda’s up to date energy unit, developed with the assistance of the ADUO after beginning 2026 with the worst engine, was not a serious enchancment, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll each eradicated within the first stage of the dash shootout and qualifying.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Picture by: Alastair Staley / LAT Pictures by way of Getty Pictures
The drivers and Adrian Newey had been fast to level to the chassis enhancements on Saturday, whereas admitting that extra progress was nonetheless wanted on the ability unit facet. Stroll was notably candid, saying outright that the staff was missing a number of energy, whereas Honda itself admitted there was nonetheless extra work to do to provide its drivers the boldness they wanted.
The choice technique and really low tyre degradation allowed Alonso to run within the factors for a lot of the race and, in reality, safe his first top-10 end on the street this 12 months. Because the Spaniard identified, Aston Martin was beforehand a lot additional away from the entrance, however even with this robust outcome and a chassis that seems to have genuinely improved, the engine stays the staff’s weak level and, for now, doesn’t look able to enabling a serious comeback for the inexperienced outfit.
– Jose Carlos de Celis
Images from Dutch GP – Sunday
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