Lando Norris Strikes Fear at Zandvoort as Mercedes Chooses Its Favorite and Fernando Alonso Delivers Miraculous Points

Lando Norris is back. The reigning champion has won at Zandvoort for his second consecutive victory, and he is starting to become a troubling contender for the Formula 1 title in the second half of the season. Especially because Norris has had a devastating race pace in the second half of the race that has overwhelmed Mercedes.

What Fernando Alonso has done is uncharacteristic for a 45-year-old driver. Starting eighteenth on the grid in a circuit where overtaking is tough, Alonso finished ninth in Zandvoort, confirming the green shoots that had been obvious to anyone who had followed the practice sessions. The tire degradation of the new Aston Martin is tremendously low.

Carlos Sainz and Albon celebrate their Williams renewal by crashing into each other

McLaren has not said its last word in this Formula 1 season. Lando Norris has just won at Zandvoort for his second consecutive victory, and he did it in a way that is scary for rivals. He had a poor start, lost the position to Kimi Antonelli and spent the entire race behind, but he raised the pace in the second half of the race and ended up winning comfortably.

McLaren only gave him one instruction for the race: avoid the medium tires that had been failing them. With soft tires they held at first, but with hard tires Norris blasted past Antonelli to such a degree that Mercedes would do well to start fearing the title. And it seems they have, because Toto Wolff has already chosen who is his number one and who is his number two.

In the final laps, after an extra pit stop triggered by a virtual safety car caused by Esteban Ocon’s retirement, Mercedes ordered George Russell to let Kimi Antonelli pass. The second in the world championship letting the leader through. And all this with a pace and tire gap that didn’t seem large enough for Russell to resist on track.

In fact, Russell stayed out and managed to defend the position in the final laps against Lewis Hamilton, who was also on softer and newer tires. But Wolff did not allow Russell to challenge the Italian. Mercedes’ choice is already clear: Kimi Antonelli is their bet for the title.

Ferrari’s storyline remains a drama. Hamilton capped off a very poor weekend with a fourth place, unable to pass a fading Russell. Charles Leclerc, again ignoring team orders to finish fifth, though he gives us the overtake of the race, which he did on Oscar Piastri, sixth. Ferrari has the car, but lacks drivers.

The race was marked by Max Verstappen’s crash on the opening lap, still with a damp track. The Dutchman exits Zandvoort by crashing head-on into the wall at the banked corner, though fortunately he’s fine. Liam Lawson managed to finish seventh and pick up some points for Red Bull during his brief return to the team.

The hero of the race is Fernando Alonso. The Asturian finished ninth with the Aston Martin, delivering a masterclass in tire conservation but also overtaking and defending with a Honda engine that doesn’t help on the straights. Aston Martin went for a one-stop strategy, and Alonso took advantage to add two points, the best result of the year.

Great performance by Nico Hülkenberg, eighth with Audi, and a point for Pierre Gasly, who leaves Yuki Tsunoda wanting more on his comeback. Carlos Sainz celebrated his Williams renewal in the worst possible way: colliding with his teammate Alexander Albon, in an incident that earned him a ten-second penalty.

Results race Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix 2026

General Formula 1 standings

1st. Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes-ITA), 242 points

2nd. George RUSSELL (Mercedes-GBR), 183 points

3rd. Lewis HAMILTON (Ferrari-GBR), 183 points

4th. Lando NORRIS (McLaren-GBR), 159 points

5th. Charles LECLERC (Ferrari-MON), 155 points

Images | Racing Bulls, McLaren