Lando Norris achieved his second successive victory following Hungary by taking the chequered flag at the final race at Zandvoort. The defending champion finished the Dutch Grand Prix in P1 ahead of the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
The McLaren driver crossed the finishing line 11.5 seconds ahead of runner-up Antonelli, whose Mercedes teammate Russell completed the podium.
It came after Norris beat sprint winner Russell for pole ahead of third-placed Antonelli and they all, like the rest of the grid, started on slicks despite rain an hour before lights out.
But the rain was on and off, causing a wet-dry surface, the dangers of which emerged at the end of the opening lap once Norris had a perfect getaway while Antonelli overtook Russell at Turn 1.
That’s because Verstappen dipped a tyre onto the white line on the inside of the final corner, causing the Red Bull driver to spin into the barrier leaving debris on the circuit.
“Yeah that’s it – sorry!,” said the Red Bull driver via team radio, having brought out the red flag just as Gabriel Bortoleto also had a spin at the banking but somehow avoided damage, with Nico Hulkenberg in particular avoiding his Audi teammate in a cloud of smoke.
Another standing start followed – after Oliver Bearman suffered an engine issue on the formation lap – much to Lando’s dismay as Kimi squeezed by at Turn 1 for the lead.
That was despite softs on the McLaren compared to mediums for Antonelli, while Russell lost third to hard runner Oscar Piastri at Turn 7.
Russell just did not have the pace, soon being under attack by Charles Leclerc as he reported balance problems, but the tight track allowed him to hold firm before swapping mediums for hards on lap 18.
McLaren responded the previous lap with Piastri, but this backfired as a slow 5.4 seconds tyre change put him behind Russell just as a dominant Antonelli streaked 2.2 seconds clear of Norris out front.
That gap closed to a second once the pit window – where all the frontrunners chose hard tyres except Leclerc on mediums – had passed, yet the reigning champion struggled to gain ground.
The wheel-to-wheel battles were more prevalent lower down. Yuki Tsunoda came out on top in an amazing multi-car fight for the top ten, while Leclerc was constantly on Piastri’s tail.
That battle finally ended on lap 34 when the Ferrari and McLaren went through the opening corners wheel-to-wheel, only for Leclerc to edge by for fourth around the outside of Turn 3.
Unfortunately for Piastri, he was overtaken for fifth at Turn 1 on the following lap by Lewis Hamilton, who quickly closed in on teammate Leclerc.
The seven-time world champion was frustrated by the team orders but they did not arrive and Hamilton sarcastically told his Ferrari team, “great way of wasting time guys, good job!”.
Hamilton eventually moved by, though, once Leclerc had made his second pitstop on lap 43, two laps after the Mercedes duo, and five before Norris came in for another set of hard tyres.
But Ferrari kept Hamilton out, which left him with first on track, yet the battle for the net lead emerged behind as Norris rapidly closed on Antonelli, who complained about his rear Pirellis.
On lap 54 Hamilton, Antonelli and Norris were all within a second and the reigning world champion made a sweeping move on Antonelli around the outside of Turn 1.
It was that same lap that Norris subsequently took the actual lead at Turn 11 from Hamilton, who dropped behind Antonelli at Turn 1 the following lap – just as Esteban Ocon caused a virtual safety car by stopping at Turn 4.
“Are you using me as a guinea pig,” complained Hamilton, wanting to pit, and that he finally did under the VSC by taking softs – same for Antonelli, while Norris and now second-placed Russell stayed out on hard compound.
Norris admitted he was “worried” by that decision and had reasons to be so, as the advantage of the fresher tyre became evident with Antonelli quickly reducing his gap to Russell.
Mercedes eventually told George to let his teammate by with the swap occurring at Turn 1 on lap 65, but this left Russell vulnerable against Hamilton claiming “we’ve lost a double podium”.
But Russell held position, helped by a brief VSC on lap 70 for debris at Turn 5, to take the final podium spot, 4.3 seconds behind Antonelli and 15.8 seconds off Norris who took his second win of the season.
So Hamilton finished fourth, Leclerc took fifth and Piastri was sixth, while Red Bull stand-in Liam Lawson, Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly respectively completed the top ten.
The result has extended Antonelli’s championship advantage, as the the Mercedes driver has a 59-point lead over both Russell and Hamilton in second as we head into Monza next weekend.
Dutch Grand Prix, race results:
1 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 2:4:44.859
2 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +11.536s
3 George Russell Mercedes +15.906s
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +16.755s
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +17.258s
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes +32.332s
7 Liam Lawson Red Bull-Ford +79.915s
8 Nico Hulkenberg Audi +1 lap
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda +1 lap
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes +1 lap
11 Yuki Tsunoda Racing Bulls-Ford +1 lap
12 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Ford +1 lap
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1 lap
14 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes +2 laps
15 Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari +2 laps
16 Carlos Sainz Williams-Mercedes +2 laps
Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes DNF
Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari DNF
Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari DNF
Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda DNF
Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari DNF
Max Verstappen Red Bull-Ford DNF
Lando Norris has taken his second consecutive victory of the season during an eventful Dutch Grand Prix, the Briton beating Kimi Antonelli to the win while home favourite Max Verstappen suffered a dramatic crash that resulted in the race being red-flagged.
After Norris initially led away from pole position at the start, the race was halted just one lap later when Verstappen lost the rear of his Red Bull and hit the wall heavily. The Dutchman fortunately reported that he was okay.
When the action resumed, Antonelli made a flying start to overtake Norris for P1 and from there stretched out a lead – but as the race entered its final third, Norris made ground and retook the position from the Mercedes.
A late Virtual Safety Car – called due to Esteban Ocon’s Haas stopping out on track – resulted in a number of drivers pitting including Antonelli, setting up for a potential chase to the end as both Norris and George Russell in front of him had not stopped for fresh tyres.
While the Silver Arrows inverted their cars to release Antonelli into second, Norris would prove unbeatable at the front and crossed the line with an 11.536s margin over the championship leader. Russell, meanwhile, just sealed the final spot on the podium in third, having fended off the chasing Ferraris to the very end.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had to settle for fourth and fifth respectively, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri claiming sixth. Liam Lawson placed seventh as the sole Red Bull to finish, the New Zealander keeping the position despite a 10-second time penalty for a yellow flag infringement.
Off the back of scoring his first points of the season in Hungary, Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg added to his tally in eighth while Fernando Alonso grabbed a valuable P9 for Aston Martin and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10 for Alpine.
Racing Bulls stand-in Yuki Tsunoda missed out in 11th, ahead of the other VCARB machine of Arvid Lindblad and Gabriel Bortoleto in the Audi. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto took P14, while Cadillac’s Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz in the Williams completed the classification.
The other Williams of Alex Albon retired towards the end of the event, joining Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, the Haas pair of Ocon and Ollie Bearman and local hero Verstappen in the list of non-finishers from the race.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/norris-wins-dramatic-dutch-grand-prix-from-antonelli-and-russell-as-verstappen-crashes-out.Zn7iYevVGp5eHzFkTEAz7
Making mistakes may be uncharacteristic of Max Verstappen, but that’s exactly what the four-time world champion did on the first lap of his home Formula 1 race.
Starting the Dutch Grand Prix from seventh on the grid after feeling unwell all weekend, Verstappen took a decent getaway but found himself squeezed on the grass in a four-wide moment on the run to Turn 1. He was consequently challenged by Red Bull stand-in Liam Lawson in the following corners – which he didn’t mind: “We are allowed to race, so I think that’s normal.”
Verstappen eventually held on to that seventh position, but a rain shower that occurred some 50 minutes before the start had dampened the track, and two drivers lost control in the banked final corner on lap one. While Gabriel Bortoleto escaped from a 360-degree pirouette unscathed, Red Bull’s superstar couldn’t catch the RB22 and suffered a substantial crash, which caused a red flag.
“I think the start is just a consequence of what is happening on the right. It’s OK, it can happen,” Verstappen commented regarding about the incident at lights out.
“Then, yeah, I got caught out. It was still quite wet in that corner, and as soon as I saw the dry patch coming, I was like, ‘Now you can accelerate’, but clearly that didn’t work. So probably it was still a bit too early.”
Red Bull eventually endured its worst grand prix since the April break results-wise, with Lawson its top car in seventh.
Verstappen did admit to “a disappointing weekend” in terms of pace as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes were out of reach, but this situation was no surprise to him.
“I wish for more, but you need to be realistic this season,” the Red Bull racer insisted. “We are the fourth-fastest team, so it’s not like walking up to Zandvoort and suddenly we can do some magic things.
“It’s just how it is, other teams have brought upgrades, we haven’t. When you’re already on the back foot, it puts you even more on the back foot. So, there’s nothing surprising, it’s just the reality that we live in.”
Verstappen will now focus on resting ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, two weeks from now: “I’ve just not been feeling well. I’m just looking forward to a break where I can just recover also, because I really didn’t feel good.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/max-verstappen-dutch-gp-crash/10848636/
Lando Norris was left feeling “over the moon” after he passed Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton with a pair of spectacular overtakes to win the Dutch Grand Prix, marking his second victory of the season.
Starting from pole position, the McLaren driver’s clean opening lap was halted following a scary crash for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, which resulted in a red flag and eventual restart for the remaining competitors.
It was on this second attempt that Norris lost the lead to Antonelli, forcing him to launch an attack that lasted for the majority of the race. Through multiple pit stops, he dropped to third place on track and patiently waited for the perfect time to strike, which came on Lap 54 of 72.
Heading into Turn 1, the reigning World Champion went around the outside of Antonelli in a decisive manoeuvre before closing up to Hamilton, who he passed on the same lap to reclaim the lead.
“Yesterday I said we needed to put on a bit of a show for everyone for the final race here, so I made it tough for myself today but [it was] a good race, well-fought,” Norris reflected. “Probably one of my better wins – we had to fight for it well but the pace was strong.
“We managed things incredibly well today so [I’m] over the moon, very happy. Nice to win the final race here in Zandvoort.
“The move was good. I knew I wasn’t going to get many chances. Every lap I spent behind [Antonelli], my odds were getting lower and lower. I saw Lewis defended and I knew that was my moment.
“I did a couple of clicks on my brake balance. I knew I was going to commit to the braking and that move won me the race. Just well-played on my part. I knew I had to make it and I probably had one chance to really make it happen and I made the most of it.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/we-needed-to-put-on-a-show-norris-dissects-the-move-that-won-me-the-final-dutch-gp.6fS1X9q1vngxLevmcyQan4
Mercedes driver George Russell conceded the team’s decision to swap him with Formula 1 team-mate Kimi Antonelli at the end of the Dutch Grand Prix was the “right decision” as they fought for second behind winner Lando Norris.
Antonelli and Russell were running second and fourth, behind leader Norris and split by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, when a late virtual safety car for a stricken Esteban Ocon provided one last twist in a chaotic afternoon at Zandvoort.
Hamilton used the VSC situation to make a cheaper pitstop for used soft tyres on lap 56 of 72, which forced a reaction out of Mercedes as it brought in Antonelli to defend against Ferrari’s undercut.
But Mercedes kept Russell out instead, as he would have ended behind Hamilton anyway, effectively handing the Briton second on the road ahead of Antonelli and Hamilton.
On older hard tyres, Russell soon came under pressure from Antonelli before he was ordered to let his championship-leading team-mate past. Russell obeyed without much delay, but not without questioning the move as he tried to salvage a podium.
Another late VSC helped Russell defend third against Hamilton, though, netting Mercedes a double podium on a day it was outperformed by McLaren for the second consecutive race weekend.
In hindsight, Russell admitted the swap was the correct decision because Antonelli would have passed him anyway on much quicker tyres. “Kimi was ahead of me anyway, so he deserved to finish ahead,” Russell said.
“When you’re in the race, you want to fight for every single position. But with the pace, with the new tyre, he would have overtaken anyway, so it was the right decision. I’m just happy to be standing on the podium. It’s been a little while for me. It’s been a strong weekend overall, so I’ll take the positives.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/george-russell-concedes-mercedess-dutch-gp-team-orders-the-right-decision/10848656/
Kimi Antonelli was left disappointed at ending the Dutch Grand Prix in second place but has also taken the positives from a weekend where he had struggled for confidence in the car, with the Italian feeling that his two strong starts “saved” his race.
After overtaking Mercedes team mate George Russell for P2 when the event got underway, Antonelli went one better during the subsequent restart – with the race red-flagged following a heavy crash for Max Verstappen – and snatched the lead from Lando Norris.
While Antonelli went on to hold the position for many laps, Norris had caught up to the championship leader during the final third of the Grand Prix and retook P1.
The 19-year-old opted to make an extra pit stop when a late Virtual Safety Car was called, dropping him behind Russell – but Mercedes made the call to invert their cars, allowing Antonelli to move up into second.
Reflecting on the race afterwards, the Italian said: “[I’m] a bit disappointed because we’ve led most of that half of the race. But yeah, on that last stint on the hard [tyre], something just didn’t feel right with the car – I just had really little confidence and the pace was not there.
“Of course it’s a shame, because I really believed in it. But today was at the end P2, it’s the maximum that we could have done.”
Having conceded that he did not feel totally at ease behind the wheel of the W17 during the event at Zandvoort, Antonelli acknowledged that it was “for sure” encouraging to still bring home a strong result.
“I think it was one of the weekends where I felt the least confident with the car overall,” he explained. “But still, I think today what really saved us were the starts. Two good starts, and managed to gain places in both.
“At the end we managed to finish P2, which is a great result for the team. Also George did a great, great job. He was a great team player today. Really happy with that, and now we look forward to Monza.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/antonelli-details-what-saved-mercedes-as-he-admits-being-disappointed-by-p2-in-dutch-grand-prix.7Cebf84txGCxavWTdiKBs4