Lando Norris won back-to-back races in 2026 for the first time, after a mid-race strategy masterclass from McLaren handed him the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
Norris made it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2026 as the Briton took the chequered flag in first after a thrilling 72-lap race at Zandvoort.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who led much of the final Dutch GP after the Red Flag restart, couldn’t keep hold of his tyres as he relinquished a chance at victory.
His team-mate George Russell fended off a late-race charge from Lewis Hamilton to round off the podium.
How the race unfolded
The five lights went out at Zandvoort for one final time as Lando Norris bolted off the line and held onto his lead. Behind him, Russell struggled under traction as his team-mate Antonelli got him into Turn 1.
Further back, the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson got their elbows out, as the Kiwi driver tried an audacious move on the outside of the four-time World Champion out of Turn 3.
But Verstappen’s staunch defence came to nought as a wet patch on the inside of the final banked corner caught him out, sending him barreling towards the barriers and out of his final home race. A heartbreaking shunt for the Dutchman, which called out the Red Flag on Lap 3.
Gabriel Bortoleto had his own moment behind Verstappen’s RB22 but kept his Audi out of harm’s way.
Norris led the pack into the pit lane, followed by Antonelli, Russell, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.
The FIA also kept themselves busy during the Red Flag period as many drivers, including Arvid Lindblad (he received a drive-through penalty) and Franco Colapinto, were noted for yellow flag infringements.
The restart was aborted as Oliver Bearman’s Haas gave up on the lap to the grid, forcing the remaining 20 drivers to go around Zandvoort for an extra formation lap.
When the race did get underway again, Norris, who had swapped his yellow-walled Mediums for the Softs, could not keep Antonelli at bay, who took the race lead from the McLaren driver.
Russell lost another place to Piastri, as the McLaren driver made a daring pass into Turn 7. The Briton was seemingly struggling as he almost relinquished P4 to Leclerc but held onto it.
By Lap 9, the top five had stabilised with rain threatening to hit the track once again. Antonelli led Norris, followed by Piastri, Russell and Leclerc.
Leclerc kept himself pinned to the gearbox of the sprint race winner Russell, trying to enforce his tyre advantage over the Mercedes driver.
On Lap 13, the grey clouds had started looming large over Zandvoort again. Antonelli had eked out a 1.7s gap to Norris. His team-mate Piastri, on the Hards, was in third, almost five seconds adrift.
Meanwhile, the battle for P4 saw Leclerc continue his charge, within a second of Russell and also pulling his team-mate Lewis Hamilton along with him.
Lawson was comfortably ahead of the chasing pack in seventh, in the solitary RB22, with Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda rounding off the top 10.
Fernando Alonso seemingly benefitted from the opening phase chaos, running 13th and on the gearbox of Esteban Ocon – less than five seconds away from the points.
Lap 17 saw Leclerc get his first real opportunity to attack Russell into Turn 1. The Mercedes driver made his W17 as wide as possible but could not break away from the Monegasque.
Russell dove into the pits on the following lap, releasing the SF-26 of Leclerc. The Briton came out of the pits in ninth and into some stubborn traffic from Hulkenberg.
McLaren decided to cover Russell’s undercut attempt, pitting Piastri, but a slow stop saw it all fall away from the Australian as he relinquished net P3 to the Mercedes driver.
Antonelli, the only car on the Mediums in the top five, was, by Lap 21, more than two seconds clear of Norris.
That said, the leading trio of Antonelli, Norris and Leclerc all pitted on the following lap for the white-walled Hards. Both Russell and Piastri jumped Leclerc, who dropped down into net fifth after the round of pit stops.
Hamilton assumed the lead of the 72-lap thriller, but the Ferrari driver pitted on Lap 26, coming out in sixth and in clean air – handing the lead back over to championship leader Antonelli.
Further back, the midfield battle got spicy as the likes of Carlos Sainz, Hulkenberg, Gasly and Lindblad scrapped lap after lap. The Alpine of Gasly lost out, dropping into 12th.
By Lap 29, Tsunoda had got himself onto the back of this squabbling party, taking P12 away from the Frenchman.
But this allowed Alonso to establish himself in 9th, ten seconds ahead of the chasing Williams – en route to Aston Martin’s best finish of 2026 as things stood.
Leclerc kept harrying the MCL40 of Piastri, forcing the McLaren to wear thin its Hard compound of tyres in pursuit of a defence. But on Lap 35, Leclerc got through, and Hamilton followed his team-mate past Piastri on the following lap.
Half-way through the Dutch GP, Norris was hunting Antonelli for the race lead, separated by less than a second, followed by Russell, Leclerc and Hamilton.
Further down the grid, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Tsunoda and Gasly rounded off the top 10, as Alonso pitted from eighth, coming out in 13th.
Tempers flare at Ferrari as McLaren commences battle of wits against Mercedes
Norris caught some traffic in his pursuit of Antonelli, losing ground to the Italian, but got back himself within a second of the 19-year-old again by Lap 39.
Meanwhile, Leclerc kept making further inroads into the top three, chasing Russell for the final podium place.
But Mercedes decided to double-stack its drivers on Lap 41, with the race leader coming out in fourth crucially and ahead of Norris’ team-mate Piastri.
Piastri was the meat in a Mercedes sandwich as Russell slotted in behind the Australian in sixth.
That said, with Russell now out of the way, Leclerc couldn’t shrug his team-mate off, who was right on his gearbox but unable to find a way past.
The Monegasque was advised to pit but refused, to the ire of Hamilton. “We’re losing time!,” he vented over the team radio comms.
Leclerc complied on the following lap, coming out of the pits in sixth but behind the lapped, squabbling pair of Lindblad and Sainz. Hamilton, however, wasn’t best pleased. “Great way of losing time, guys. Good job,” he said.
Piastri made yet another stop, this time on the Softs, coming out right behind the Red Bull of Lawson, getting past him on Lap 46.
Meanwhile, McLaren had extended Norris’ stint by five laps already. But he dove into the pits on Lap 48 and came out behind the 19-year-old with a seven-lap tyre advantage over the Mercedes driver.
Antonelli loses his rears and the Dutch GP win to Lando Norris
With 23 laps to go, Hamilton led the Dutch GP but was yet to pit. Antonelli in net P1 was just over two seconds ahead of Norris but with seven-lap-older tyres.
But on Lap 52, Antonelli complained, “I have no rears!” as Norris got himself into the 19-year-old’s overtake zone. Hamilton was yet to pit, further compounding Antonelli’s miseries in the wake of the dirty air of the SF-26.
The reigning World Champion snatched his lead back on Lap 54 as Antonelli got impeded by Hamilton in his defence into Turn 1. But now it was Norris’ turn to eat Hamilton’s dirty air.
But he got himself past Hamilton into the chicane and finally consolidated his lead. The VSC was called out for the stricken Haas of Ocon on the following lap, allowing Hamilton to finally pit.
The Ferrari driver came out in fourth, on Softs, his team-mate Leclerc following him into the pits and choosing the Softs as well. McLaren, too, opted to pit Piastri onto a set of Soft tyres.
The erstwhile race leader Antonelli also pitted for a set of Soft tyres and slotted into P3. Norris now led the race with Russell in second, but both drivers were on the Hard tyres. Mercedes had seemingly turned the tables on McLaren as the VSC ended.
With 12 laps to go, Antonelli had a 12-second deficit to erase over Norris for the race win. Mercedes asked Russell to make way for his team-mate, on Lap 66.
But Norris had kept his buffer; now with six laps to go, he was still 11 seconds ahead of Antonelli. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s advances on Russell were interrupted by a VSC for debris on Lap 70.
At the chequered flag, Norris took his second win of 2026 in as many race weekends. Antonelli came home second on the road with his team-mate Russell rounding off the podium.
Heading into the Italian GP, Antonelli holds a 59-point lead over Hamilton and Russell.
READ MORE – F1 2026 Dutch Grand Prix – Race Results
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