ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands – Lando Norris won the final Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on Sunday, passing Kimi Antonelli for the lead with a bold move around the outside at Turn 1 on lap 54 and going on to win by more than 10 seconds, sending a statement that McLaren’s reigning champion may make Formula 1’s second half interesting.Antonelli held on for second for Mercedes after championship rival and George Russell was told to let him through in the closing laps. Russell dropped to third but kept Lewis Hamilton behind him across the finish, the Ferrari driver twice looking for a way past at Turn 1 without finding one. Max Verstappen was an early retirement in his final home grand prix, crashing out before the fight for the win had really taken shape.Antonelli, 19, still leads the championship as the series shifts to his home Italian Grand Prix on Sep. 6.Two Virtual Safety Car periods shaped the finish. The first came when Esteban Ocon’s Haas stopped on track, triggering the round of stops that set up the podium fight. The second arrived with two laps to go, after a collision between Williams teammates Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon sent debris onto the circuit; Sainz was handed a 10-second penalty for causing the crash. The late caution briefly closed the field up and nearly gave Hamilton the run at Russell he needed for the final podium spot.Further back, Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson brought their cars home sixth and seventh, with Nico Hulkenberg eighth. Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly spent the closing laps fighting over ninth, while Yuki Tsunoda struggled to make progress on aging tires in eleventh.McLaren’s Lando Norris on track ahead of the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. (Mark Thompson / Getty Images)Norris will be a late-season forceIf victory in Hungary served a gentle reminder of why he is the reigning champion, then Zandvoort was Lando Norris putting the F1 world on notice.Despite taking pole on Saturday, Norris seemed a little unsure of his win chances. The sprint suggested the McLaren car was taking more out of its tires compared to the Mercedes. A race three times as long would surely expose that problem even more.It seemed early on that Norris would not even get the chance to hold on, losing the lead off the second restart to Antonelli and then trailing through the stint by a couple of seconds. But Norris ensured that Antonelli could not escape into the distance and, after both cars switched to the hard compound tire, started to look more comfortable than the championship leader.After missing the chance to undercut Antonelli following an early stop by Mercedes, McLaren kept Norris out to build a tire advantage for the final stint. With tires that were seven laps fresher and Antonelli complaining about a lack of grip, Norris was able to carve into the five-second gap, taking 1.5 seconds out in a single lap alone at one point.Antonelli never stood a chance to keep Norris back, but the fashion of the decisive overtake — a brave sweep around the outside at Turn 1, hanging on at the edge of the track and then pulling clear at exit — was telling. It was Norris showing all the supreme confidence of a world champion.The late Virtual Safety Car and switch to soft tires for Antonelli gave Norris a scare, but the win was never in serious doubt.Back-to-back wins for Norris have reduced the points gap to Antonelli to 72 points. It’s a big margin, equivalent to almost three race wins. But Zandvoort showed the McLaren driver won’t let go of his crown without some fight. — Luke SmithRussell’s opportunity evaporatesThroughout Russell’s F1 career, he’s been known as “Mr. Saturday,” a nickname he earned back during his Williams stint for his standout qualifying performances. And at Zandvoort, this came into full view as he converted pole position to a sprint race victory on Saturday, but that’s where his weekend got complicated.Russell entered the Dutch GP weekend 59 points behind Antonelli, after the summer break, but he’s focused on improving performances, the Briton said Thursday. The sprint race victory closed the gap by three points, with Antonelli finishing third, and Russell had the stronger qualifying session. He lined up on the front row next to pole sitter Norris, while Antonelli was a row behind in third.Antonelli got the jump on Russell on Sunday, with the Briton experiencing a poor start and his Italian teammate passing him. And when racing was underway again, after the grand prix was red-flagged due to Verstappen’s crash, Antonelli took the lead, but it wasn’t an easy breezy Sunday drive from there for him. Norris was hot on his tail, and eventually passed him on Lap 55.A Virtual Safety Car for Esteban Ocon’s stranded Haas prompted a key strategic decision for Mercedes. On Lap 57, the team pitted Antonelli for soft tires while keeping Russell out on hards. A slow 4.6-second pit stop—down from an earlier 2.8-second mark—dropped championship leader Antonelli behind Russell for the first time. At the restart, Norris led Russell by 6.2 seconds, with Antonelli another 6.3 seconds back but closing in by a second per lap.Russell, now ahead of his teammate, told the pit wall he was reluctant to yield unless Antonelli could challenge for the win. But with Russell 11 seconds behind Norris and Antonelli lapping faster, Mercedes ordered a position swap, sacrificing Russell’s potential points gain. The Briton reluctantly complied.Ultimately, any ground Russell gained during the Dutch GP weekend was secured on Saturday. — Madeline ColemanVerstappen’s final home race ends earlyIt’s the last Dutch GP at Circuit Zandvoort, with the track having decided to leave F1 well over a year ago. And the big weekend, featuring Zandvoort’s first sprint race, kicked off with the announcement that Verstappen would stay with Red Bull through the end of 2030.But for Red Bull, it’s been quieter since the Verstappen contract news and Liam Lawson’s promotion to replace an injured Isack Hadjar. The Dutchman, who has been sick this weekend, said after the sprint race qualifying on Friday that they’d been struggling with car balance, and he wasn’t able to really challenge during the sprint race, finishing where he qualified — sixth. Qualifying for the grand prix didn’t go much better, with Verstappen lining up Sunday in seventh.In the hour leading up to the Dutch GP, rain soaked the circuit, including during the reconnaissance laps, when the cars navigated from the garage to the grid pre-race. Canopies were opened above each grid box as wind carried the rain. But it ended before the race started, prompting the grid to opt for slick tires rather than intermediates.Parts of the track still looked damp as the cars navigated around Circuit Zandvoort, and Verstappen caught the worst of it. He touched the white line at the final turn and slammed into the outside wall before his car crossed over toward the inside wall, the Red Bull heavily damaged.