Verstappen's opening-lap crash, a restart that reshuffled the leaders and McLaren's third straight Dutch Grand Prix win at a circuit leaving the calendar.
Circuit Zandvoort hosted its final scheduled Dutch Grand Prix on 23 August 2026. Lando Norris, from pole, won for McLaren ahead of Antonelli and Russell after Verstappen's crash at the end of lap one had caused a red flag. Norris won by more than 11 seconds.
The 2026 Dutch Grand Prix was held at Circuit Zandvoort on 23 August 2026, the final scheduled race at the circuit before it left the Formula One calendar. Lando Norris won from pole for McLaren, ahead of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Max Verstappen crashed heavily at the end of the opening lap, which brought a red flag and a restart that reshuffled the leaders.
Why was the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix a farewell?
The race was the final scheduled Dutch Grand Prix, because the promoter elected not to extend the contract for 2027. The weekend ran from 21 to 23 August and was the 36th time the circuit had hosted a race in its history. It was also the 36th running of the Dutch Grand Prix as a championship round.
It was the fifth of six sprint-format Grands Prix in the 2026 season, and the first time that the Dutch Grand Prix had included a sprint.
A farewell at Zandvoort, a red-flag restart and a Norris win that gave McLaren its third straight Dutch Grand Prix.
Who won the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix?
Lando Norris won from pole for McLaren, his second straight victory after the Hungarian Grand Prix and his second win at Zandvoort. He finished more than 11 seconds clear of Antonelli, and George Russell was third. It was McLaren's third consecutive Dutch Grand Prix victory.
The win was the 13th of Norris's Formula One career. He had taken over the lead on lap 54 after a close battle with Antonelli and Hamilton, and he controlled the final restart with a clear gap that grew over the closing laps.
Antonelli finished second and Russell third, with Hamilton fourth. Leclerc was fifth and Piastri sixth, while Lawson was seventh after a ten-second penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags.
Entries, practice and tyres
The drivers and teams matched the published entry list, except at Red Bull, where Isack Hadjar injured his wrist and could not compete. Liam Lawson took his place, his first appearance for Red Bull since the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. Yuki Tsunoda, who last raced for Red Bull at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, replaced Lawson at Racing Bulls.
The only free practice session took place on 21 August at 12:30 local time (UTC+2), and Antonelli was fastest ahead of Norris and Russell. Pirelli selected its C2, C3 and C4 compounds, the middle three of its range, designated hard, medium and soft.
How did the sprint and qualifying set the grid?
In the first sprint qualifying segment the medium tyres were mandated. Antonelli lost the rear of his car at the penultimate corner and ran through the gravel, and he later revealed that the excursion had left holes in the floor. His mechanics repaired it enough for him to finish SQ1 in eighth. Leclerc was fastest in SQ1, ahead of Norris and Piastri, while Ocon and Albon displaced Bearman and Sainz, who were eliminated in 17th and 18th.
In SQ2 Piastri produced the fastest lap after Norris had moved to the top, and McLaren stayed on track while the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers returned to the pits. Lawson was eliminated 11th in SQ2, narrowly ahead of Tsunoda. In the final sprint segment Russell secured his third sprint pole of the season, with Leclerc third and Piastri fourth in a shootout decided by less than one tenth of a second.
George Russell won the sprint from pole, his third sprint win of the season, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Norris. Antonelli finished fourth in the sprint, and his championship lead over Hamilton grew to 53 points.
For the main race Norris took pole, his second straight pole and the 18th Grand Prix pole of his career. Russell was second, Antonelli third and Piastri fourth. Hamilton and Leclerc completed an all-Ferrari third row in fifth and sixth.
Qualifying was held on 22 August at 16:00 local time. In the first segment Nico Hulkenberg led the field out of the pit lane, and Hamilton briefly went through the gravel at turn 1 after locking up. Albon narrowly took the final Q2 place ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr.
In the second segment Verstappen led the field out and briefly set the pace before Russell established the first representative benchmark. McLaren then took control as the track evolved, with Norris narrowly beating Piastri. Gasly was the fastest driver eliminated, missing Lindblad's time by less than a tenth, and he was followed by Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Ocon and Albon.
In the final segment the threat of rain brought the drivers back to the track earlier than usual. Antonelli briefly took provisional pole before Norris beat his time, and Russell moved up to second. Only four hundredths of a second separated Russell, Antonelli and Piastri at the front.
Sprint race
Sergio Perez started from the pit lane after a technical issue, leaving his grid place empty, and Nico Hulkenberg retired with a power unit problem. He was not classified, as he had not covered 90 per cent of the sprint distance. Russell pulled away from Norris after Mercedes told him on lap 10 that he could increase his pace.
Leclerc passed Norris around the outside of the first turn on lap 18. Russell took the sprint win, his third of the season, with Antonelli fourth. Piastri held off Verstappen for fifth, Hamilton was seventh and Gasly took the final point in eighth.
What happened at the start?
Heavy rain had fallen in the hour before the race, leaving standing water and making the choice between slick and intermediate tyres uncertain. By the time the pit lane opened the rain had gone, so the field chose dry-weather tyres. Norris, Russell, Antonelli and Piastri selected mediums for the start, as did Gasly, Colapinto and Ocon, while both Cadillac drivers started on hards. The formation lap was run behind the safety car because parts of the circuit remained wet.
Verstappen lost control of his car on the banked final corner at the end of the opening lap. The car struck the outside barrier heavily and rebounded towards the circuit, causing the red flag. He was uninjured, and Red Bull later found no mechanical fault. He later accepted responsibility for the accident.
The restart was run in the order recorded at the end of lap one, and the teams used the stoppage to change tyres. Norris went to soft tyres, and Piastri switched to hard tyres. Oliver Bearman suffered a power unit problem on the way to the grid and stopped, which ended his race and meant an additional formation lap was required.
Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto were investigated for overtaking under double yellow flags after Verstappen's accident, and both received drive-through penalties. The race resumed with a standing start on lap five, when Antonelli made the better launch and passed Norris on the inside at Tarzan to take the lead.
| Finish | Driver | Team | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 3 |
| 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 2 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 5 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 6 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 4 |
| 7 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | 8 |
| 8 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 13 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 18 |
Russell was the first of the leaders to pit, on lap 16 for hard tyres, and rejoined in traffic. Piastri stopped a lap later, but a slow service dropped him back behind Russell. Antonelli and Norris stopped on lap 22 for hards, and Leclerc pitted for mediums at the same time, while Hamilton extended his stint.
At the front Antonelli led Norris, Russell, Piastri, Leclerc and Hamilton once the first stops were complete. Norris moved back to within a second of Antonelli by lap 30, though a moment of oversteer briefly interrupted his progress. Leclerc passed Piastri around the outside of the banked turn 3 on lap 34, and Hamilton followed past Piastri into turn 1 on the next lap.
Mercedes started the second round of pit stops shortly after lap 40, with Antonelli first and Russell soon after him. Norris kept his middle stint going to lap 48, seven laps beyond Antonelli, before he fitted fresh hards. Hamilton, who had not yet made his final stop, inherited the lead with Antonelli and Norris immediately behind.
By lap 52 Norris was right behind Antonelli. On lap 54 Antonelli tried to pass Hamilton into turn 1 and moved to the inside, which left Norris the cleaner outside line. Norris braked later to take second place, and later on the same lap Hamilton ran wide at turn 10, letting Norris complete the pass for the lead.
A virtual safety car on lap 55 recovered Ocon's car after it stopped on track. Antonelli and Hamilton fitted soft tyres during the neutralisation, while Norris and Russell stayed on their hards. The restart left Norris several seconds ahead of Russell, with Antonelli behind Russell.
Mercedes told Russell to yield second to Antonelli on lap 65 so that Antonelli could chase Norris. Russell questioned the instruction, because Hamilton might catch him, but he complied. Antonelli's soft tyres faded, and Norris pulled clear again.
A late collision between the Williams drivers, Sainz and Albon, left debris at turn 5 and brought a second virtual safety car on lap 70. Sainz received a ten-second time penalty for causing the collision, and Albon retired. Norris controlled the final restart and won by more than 11 seconds from Antonelli.
What did the result mean for the title race?
Antonelli still led the drivers' table on 242 points, 59 clear of both Russell and Hamilton. Russell moved ahead of Hamilton into second on countback, having won two races to Hamilton's one. Norris rose to fourth with 159 points, 83 behind Antonelli.
Mercedes remained top of the constructors' table with 425 points, 87 ahead of Ferrari, while McLaren moved up to third on 263 points. Norris's second win in succession also gave McLaren a third straight Dutch Grand Prix victory.
Hulkenberg finished eighth after starting 13th and making several passes in quick succession. Alonso ran a long one-stop race and climbed from 18th on the grid to ninth, ahead of Gasly. Tsunoda, Lindblad and Bortoleto took the next three places.
Verstappen did not finish, and neither did Albon, Bottas, Ocon, Stroll or Bearman. Colapinto also took a ten-second penalty for not slowing under yellow flags, on top of his earlier drive-through. Neither his final position nor Lawson's changed.
