After an uneventful Sprint race on Saturday, the Dutch Grand Prix was absolutely anything but, from early red flags to many exciting overtakes. When the checkered flag finally waved, it was pole-sitter and World Champion Lando Norris who took the victory ahead of the Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. However, the win was not an easy one, and there was plenty of other battles throughout the 72 laps. This may have been the final race at Zandvoort, but no one will be forgetting it anytime soon.
- Verstappen’s Crash Causes Red Flags
- It was only the second lap of the race when Max Verstappen dipped a wheel over the white line and spun into the barriers, triggering a red flag. Rain had fell not long before the race began, and the final sector was still damp, and the final corner was where Verstappen was caught out. The Dutch man was fortunately okay, but it’s a heartbreaking situation on what was his last home race. Meanwhile, the rest of the grid had to deal with a standing restart after the session had come to a stop following the red flags. Kimi Antonelli, who was starting second after overtaking his teammate in the opening lap, managed to take advantage of this and steal the lead from Lando Norris, whose new softs were not helping him retain his position. The World Champion’s teammate Oscar Piastri had a better start, managing to make his way up to third on hard tires.
- Thrilling Midfield Battle
- Alpine, Racing Bulls, and Audi all looked pretty evenly matched heading into the Grand Prix, and the race only proved that further as Hulkenberg, Gasly, and the pair of Racing Bulls drivers were in an intense battle for the final points positions. Nico Hulkenberg was the one to prevail, after first overtaking Gasly before performing an impressive move around the outside to get past Arvid Lindblad. The Audi driver ended the race in eighth place, with Pierre Gasly earning a point in tenth, and Fernando Alonso managed to sneak in between the two to be in the points for the second race this season. However, the Racing Bulls got the short end of the stick this time around, with Yuki Tsunoda and Arvid Lindblad ending eleventh and twelfth respectively.
- Norris’ Impressive Race
- Lando Norris may have started on pole, but this race was not a straightforward one for the reigning World Champion. After getting overtook by Kimi Antonelli on the restart, Norris didn’t have a chance to really make an impact until later into the race. But when he got the chance, he certainly didn’t hesitate to take it, with an incredible move around the outside through Tarzan corner to gain the position. And shortly after it was a clean move past Lewis Hamilton, who was running in the lead after pitstops, to firmly secure P1. After Norris’ second Grand Prix victory in a row, he now sits fourth in the Championship ahead of Charles Leclerc and only 83 points behind Kimi Antonelli at the top. If Lando and McLaren can continue to improve and challenge for victories, that gap could very well continue to decrease.
- Russell Still Chasing his Teammate
- George Russell seemed to be gaining more momentum this weekend, after a Sprint win and outqualifying Kimi Antonelli. However, once the Grand Prix began it was increasingly obvious that Russell still can’t find the same amount of pace that his younger teammate can. However, he did look set to finish in second ahead of Kimi, before team orders came in to swap positions to cover off a fast Lewis Hamilton behind. The result means that the Italian continues to extend his Championship lead and retain the majority of the momentum at Mercedes, but George Russell still has lots of positives to take away after keeping Hamilton behind in the final laps of the race to sit tied for second in the Drivers’ Standings.
- Haas and Williams Having a Day to Forget
- Haas may be sitting in seventh in the Championship ahead of Audi, but they continue to have disappointing race days and today was no better. Ollie Bearman was forced to come to a stop during the restart formation lap, causing the start to be delayed with an extra lap, and his teammate Esteban Ocon got to run in the race a bit longer before also being forced to stop alongside the track and triggering the Virtual Safety Car. Williams also has been on the back foot this entire season, and this time contact between the two drivers caused Alex Albon to retire from the race after Sainz locked up during their battle at the back of the grid. Williams has been having problems all year, and they will really be wanting to figure out how to at least challenge some of the lower midfield runners. Meanwhile Haas is still ahead of Audi in the Standings, but if they don’t fix some issues soon, that could change at any moment.
