Formula 1 returned from its four-week summer break at Zandvoort with a colorful swan song for the Dutch Grand Prix, which will drop off the calendar after this year.Tens of thousands of Dutch fans who packed into the seaside circuit may have been hoping for a Max Verstappen victory, but it was Lando Norris, the reigning world champion, who took what will stand as the final F1 win at Zandvoort for now.Norris’s second straight win was a signal of his and McLaren’s F1 title hopes still being alive despite the points gap to Kimi Antonelli, who retains a healthy lead atop the world championship standings.Here’s the latest edition of our F1 mailbag.Editor’s note: Questions have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.Is it safe to assume that McLaren is back? It has done well at circuits with similar characteristics, such as Hungary and Zandvoort. Will Monza be the real test of the potential of its upgrades across different circuits? — Rafi H.Zandvoort was a mighty performance from Norris and McLaren. I feared they might struggle to fight Mercedes, given how Norris faded in the sprint on Saturday, yet he was head and shoulders above Antonelli in managing the hard tires. It was a masterclass not only in driving by Norris but also in strategy and race management by McLaren.Post-race, Antonelli and teammate George Russell talked up McLaren as now having the fastest car, while Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, claimed it didn’t have the money to push hard on development to restore its advantage at the front. With Max Verstappen’s late-season turnaround in 2025 still fresh in the memory, the idea of Norris getting in the fight to defend his title no longer seems so crazy.But as Rafi notes, the tracks in Hungary and the Netherlands were similar in characteristics, mainly featuring medium-speed corners and not a lot of long straights, heavy braking zones or very low-speed sections, which have tended to be McLaren’s weak spots this year.Next up is Monza, a track which has *checks notes* all of those things. It’ll be a big, big test of McLaren’s progress compared to Mercedes in those areas, and perhaps a tell of whether it can truly mount a title challenge with Norris this year.“There are a lot of things that we need to confirm as we head on to the next race,” team principal Andrea Stella told reporters post-race at Zandvoort. “But so far, I think we can confirm that when we are at high downforce circuits with this sort of layout, then we can fight for victory.”If McLaren can perform at Monza, where Antonelli is set to take a grid penalty due to an engine change, then it would surely set alight the championship fight and be an indication of its presence as F1’s team to beat going into the final stint of the season. — Luke SmithCan anyone stop Antonelli? — Chris D.Antonelli has put together a stunner of a campaign this season, starkly contrasting his rookie year.Last season, he endured more ups and downs, the European run in particular being a tricky stint for him. But this year, the 20-year-old is more confident and consistent in his performances. Antonelli took hold of the drivers’ standings lead after winning the Japanese GP in March and hasn’t relinquished it since. He’s currently 59 points ahead of teammate George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who are level in points.There are still plenty of races left, but a development race is unfolding in the paddock, muddling the pecking order. Antonelli reckoned Mercedes was actually the second- or third-fastest car in Zandvoort.Kimi Antonelli and George Russell celebrate on the podium during the Dutch Grand Prix. (Clive Rose/Getty Images)That being said, there would need to be a series of misfortunes for someone to mount a comeback like Verstappen’s last season. As Norris joked after qualifying, “I’m hoping both Mercedes get a double DSQ in Vegas as we did and decide not to box in Qatar for a free pit stop. So as long as they make the same mistakes, it’ll probably be just as easy.”In reality, it’s impossible to say. His form is impeccable as he’s hardly misstepped this year. But there’s a lot of season to go, something Russell pointed out after qualifying in Zandvoort.“There’s more points on offer from this point until the end of the season than we’ve had so far,” the Briton said. “It changes so, so quickly. We already saw it early in the season. At one point I was almost 70 points down, got within 25, went up to 60. It ebbs and flows, and it’s far from over.” — Madeline ColemanAston Martin seems to have a car. Is it just that Alonso is a GOAT and can squeeze out the best of any car? It’s just one race, but the tire wear and overall pace of the new car is impressive. — Joyce M.It’s likely a combination of both. There’s no denying Fernando Alonso’s talent as a two-time world champion and how he’s able to continue extracting extra performance from cars lacking competitiveness. He managed to navigate from a P18 start to finish ninth, on pure pace. But Aston Martin also has taken a step forward.The team brought a significant chassis upgrade package to Hungary, the last race before the summer break, and some new components to Zandvoort this past weekend. And it brought the long-awaited Honda engine update, though it’s a bit trickier to see whether that has improved.“The engine is more difficult,” Alonso said after Sunday’s race. “I don’t think we can be black-and-white on whether we have more power or not. From the driver’s side of things, changing circuits one month after another race, the drivability has made it a difficult weekend. We are struggling with the downshifts again and with the engine braking corner-to-corner. It was a challenging weekend in that regard.”Alonso does feel Aston Martin’s performance will still be on a circuit-by-circuit basis, but finishing in points was a fair result that reflected its performance. The car is a bit quicker in corners but slower on the straights. He doesn’t expect them to be competitive at the Italian GP next time out, given the track is known for its long straights and high-speed corners. — Madeline ColemanWhat is up at Haas? Has it got the latest spec Ferrari engine in its cars now? Has it got any updates in the pipeline to get back in the midfield hunt? — Joe D.There was a point early in the season when Haas was shaping up to be one of the giant-killers of F1 2026. Ollie Bearman’s superb fifth-place finish in China was a high point as it spent the opening rounds of the year fighting against Red Bull.Since then, Haas has steadily slid toward the rear of the field. The team hasn’t scored a point since Monaco and is now becoming a regular Q1/Q2 fringe team. With Aston Martin evidently making a step with its recent car and engine update and Williams planning a big upgrade package for Azerbaijan, Haas needs to respond to avoid becoming F1’s second-slowest team.The team has struggled with parts production this year, chiefly with consistency, an issue that has affected both Bearman and teammate Esteban Ocon when driving the car. Knowing that each part offers the same aerodynamic qualities is crucial to building confidence behind the wheel.Haas has the latest specification of Ferrari’s engine in its cars and has an update package planned for Monza that could provide a step forward. The major set of upgrades it introduced in Montreal wasn’t perfect, making the car harder to drive in some areas despite adding a bit of performance.But what is really holding the team back in the midfield fight is something much harder to fix: its size. Haas is the smallest team on the F1 grid, smaller even than Cadillac, which debuted at the start of the year. That goes for personnel and budget.“For us to have any remote chance of keeping up with the others, because of the size of our team, everything has to be perfect,” Ayao Komatsu, the team principal, told reporters last Thursday at Zandvoort. “But that’s just not realistic in anyone’s life.”Komatsu likened Haas’s efforts to progress like climbing Mount Everest, saying it’s not about looking at the summit but reaching each base camp; making steady progress year on year with its operations while making the best of its present situation.Keeping in the fight against Red Bull, or indeed any of the bigger midfield rivals in a year where each development is more impactful given the infancy of the regulations, was always going to be difficult, if not impossible.Haas will hope for a boost at Monza with its next update. But it’s going to take a decent step to seriously be back in points-scoring contention regularly. — Luke Smith