Lando Norris triumphed at the Dutch Grand Prix in Formula 1 this Sunday (23), at Zandvoort. The McLaren driver clawed back the lead in the final stages of the race and secured his second consecutive victory of the season. Kimi Antonelli finished in second place and George Russell completed the podium. Gabriel Bortoleto crossed the finish line in 13th place.
Lando Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix, the 12th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, held this Sunday (23) in Zandvoort. After starting from pole, losing the lead early and needing to rebuild his race, the current world champion regained the top position in the final phase of the race to claim his second consecutive victory in the championship.
Kimi Antonelli finished in second and kept the Drivers’ World Championship lead, while George Russell completed the Mercedes podium. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, followed by Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Liam Lawson, Nico Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso, and Pierre Gasly completed the points-paying positions.
Gabriel Bortoleto had a tough race after starting ninth. The Brazilian dropped several positions at the start, spun in the early laps amid the treacherous conditions on track, and was also investigated for leaving the pits with the red light on. After trying to claw back positions throughout the race, he took the checkered flag in 13th place, just behind Arvid Lindblad.
Race
The rain that lingered around Zandvoort before the start made tire choice particularly tricky. Although the track was damp in some areas, everyone started on slicks. Norris, Russell, Antonelli, Piastri, Gasly, Colapinto and Ocon chose the mediums; Bottas and Pérez started on the hard compounds, while the others opted for the softs.
When the lights went out, Russell got a poor start and immediately dropped a place to Antonelli. Norris also failed to convert pole into an early advantage, while Bortoleto had an even worse exit: starting ninth, he dropped to 14th, though he recovered one position to pass Hulkenberg already on the first lap.
The race suffered an almost immediate interruption. On the second lap, Max Verstappen lost control of the Red Bull in Turn 14, skidded on the wet section and hit the outside barrier forcefully. The Dutchman retired, but the car appeared physically unharmed.
Bortoleto also lost control of the Audi at nearly the same spot. The Brazilian spun completely, but was lucky not to hit the wall and not to be hit by the cars behind. With Verstappen’s crash, race control displayed the red flag and everyone returned to the pit-lane.
The race resumed with a standing start. After the restart, Bortoleto tried to rebuild his race and passed Alonso to take 14th place. In front, Antonelli initially managed to pull away by more than a second from Norris, while Leclerc pressured Russell and Hamilton closed in on the battle.
On lap 12, Bortoleto made his first stop and fitted medium tires. Shortly after, however, race control announced that the Brazilian would be investigated after the race for leaving the pits with the red light on. Oliver Bearman was also summoned for the same reason.
The first major round of pit stops began to reshuffle the order. Russell stopped on lap 18 and fitted hard tires. Piastri came in a lap later and Hulkenberg did his change on lap 20. Antonelli, Norris, and Leclerc pitted on lap 22, briefly leaving Hamilton in the lead.
Bortoleto overtook Colapinto, Pérez and Bottas during this stretch, but his comeback faced another hurdle. On lap 24, the Brazilian radioed in about a possible issue with the car, apparently related to a loss of power. Audi replied that it found no abnormalities in the data at that moment.
Hamilton pitted on lap 26 and rejoined in sixth. Meanwhile, Hulkenberg advanced to tenth after taking advantage of a squabble between Gasly and Lindblad.
In front, the battle intensified. Leclerc attacked Piastri in Turn 1 and moved up to fourth on lap 34. Hamilton also got past the Australian on the following lap. Race control even reviewed Piastri’s driving during the duel with Hamilton and showed the McLaren driver a black-and-white flag for erratic driving.
Bortoleto carried out another stop on lap 36, this time for hard tires. With further changes in the pits, he returned to 13th position and later overtook Albon to move into 12th.
The decisive phase began on lap 48, when Norris pitted. The McLaren driver rejoined about four seconds behind Antonelli, the virtual leader at the time, but immediately embarked on an impressive sequence of fast laps.
The gap closed rapidly. Norris was 1.5 seconds faster on lap 50 and gained another 1.6 seconds on the following lap. Soon after, he was right on the tail of Antonelli’s Mercedes.
Hamilton, still ahead of the two, became a central figure in the tussle. On lap 54, Antonelli threatened to attack the Ferrari driver, but had to pull back. Norris seized the moment, went around the outside and passed the Italian. Moments later, he overtook Hamilton and assumed the lead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Antonelli also passed Hamilton and returned to second place, but a new safety neutralization altered strategic options.
The Virtual Safety Car was deployed on lap 55 to remove Esteban Ocon’s car. Bortoleto instantly took the opportunity to make another stop without losing position. Hamilton and Leclerc also pitted, while Antonelli stopped on lap 57 and fitted soft tires.
On the resumption, Norris led on hard tires, while Antonelli had the chance to chase him with fresher soft compounds. The gap was around 12 seconds, with Russell still appearing between the two on the track.
However, the tire advantage was not enough to close the gap as hoped. Norris increased his pace and, even with the hard compounds, managed to maintain the lead. With 14 laps to go, the margin to Antonelli stood at 12.5 seconds.
In the closing laps, the race saw further incidents and penalties. Franco Colapinto received a ten-second penalty for an infringement under a yellow flag, while Liam Lawson also received ten seconds for the same type of offense.
On lap 70, a contact between Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz sent debris across Turn 1 and triggered another Virtual Safety Car. Race control held Sainz responsible for the collision and imposed a ten-second penalty on the Spaniard.
The track was released for the final laps, but Norris kept control. Hamilton staged an attack on Russell for third place, while Leclerc reached his Ferrari teammate and attempted a move on the final lap, with the two nearly touching.
None of this altered the lead.
Norris crossed the line to win the Dutch Grand Prix and claim his second consecutive victory, following his win at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break. The world champion had started on pole, lost control of the race early, and regained the lead only in the final stages, concluding a busy Sunday in Zandvoort with yet another victory.
Antonelli finished in second and Russell completed the podium. Hamilton finished fourth, ahead of Leclerc and Piastri. Lawson was seventh, Hulkenberg eighth, Alonso ninth, and Gasly rounded out the top 10.
Bortoleto came very close to Lindblad in the closing laps but could not find room to overtake. After a race marked by a poor start, a spin, varying strategies, and a comeback, the Brazilian finished 13th.
Result of the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix:
1) Lando Norris (McLaren)
2) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
3) George Russell (Mercedes)
4) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
5) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6) Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
7) Liam Lawson (Red Bull Racing)
8) Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
9) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
10) Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
11) Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)
12) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
13) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
14) Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
15) Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
16) Carlos Sainz (Williams)
17) Alexander Albon (Williams)
18) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
19) Esteban Ocon (Haas F1 Team)
20) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
21) Oliver Bearman (Haas F1 Team)
22) Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
