Formula 1 returned to action at Zandvoort this weekend following the sport’s now traditional four-week summer break, and after the conclusion of this afternoon’s action-packed Dutch Grand Prix, which will be the penultimate one before its contract expires next year, it was McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who received the victory spoils.

Before turning to the on-track action in the Netherlands, the main news during the build-up to this weekend was that the US automotive giant, General Motors, which is set to join the current Formula 1 grid next year under its Cadillac brand, made the much-expected announcement that its 2026 drivers will be the veteran pairing of Finland’s Valtteri Bottas and Mexico’s Sergio Pérez. As such, the Silverstone-based new team is clearly opting for experience over youth, although it has to be remembered somewhat ominously that both of these drivers, despite having been race winners in the past, lost their previous F1 race seats with Sauber and Red Bull last year due to a clear and consistent lack of speed. In fact, Bottas achieved the unenviable record of having failed to score even a single point throughout last season, and Pérez managed on average only 1.6 points per race during the second half of the same campaign despite being in the car in which Max Verstappen claimed a further Drivers’ title.

Over the years I’ve witnessed many racing drivers setting surprisingly fast lap times before ending up in the barriers, and this befell Stroll early in Friday’s subsequent second free practice period when the Canadian caused significant damage to the right-hand front and rear corners of his car...

Formula 1 is, of course, big business as well as being an ever-increasingly popular global sport, and Cadillac, led by its British team principal, Graeme Lowdon, has acknowledged that, in addition to racing experience, Bottas and Pérez also provide major commercial benefits on the sponsorship front, particularly in the case of the latter. Perhaps having two drivers who aren’t exactly the quickest on the grid will not be a major issue, with the Ferrari-powered team not expected to achieve too much during its infancy. What is also interesting, though, is that Cadillac’s management is clearly unwilling to risk using a homegrown American racing talent or even a leading US-based non-American one in at least one of its cars.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the driver front, four-time champion Verstappen will remain with Red Bull for next season at least and wait to see which teams appear to have mastered the 2026 new technical regulations best before making any decision about 2027 and beyond, with a move to Mercedes still a distinct possibility. The Mercedes supremo, Toto Wolff, made it clear here at Zandvoort on Friday that he still regrets losing a young Verstappen to Red Bull when that team was willing to promote him straight from F3 to F1, but Mercedes wasn't. Wolff also added that he sees the Dutch racer as the best driver of the current generation, hoping they might be able to work together in the future. So everything seems pretty clear. Wolff is, of course, well known for his brinkmanship and at times lengthy deliberations about driver contract decisions, something which proved to be one of the reasons for Lewis Hamilton now racing in red. This leaves both of his current drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who are out of contract at the end of this year, left waiting to hear whether they will be re-signed for 2026, and they may well be, but 2027 could be another matter.

There will be plenty of time to review the new car regulations in due course, but it is already clear that they will represent some of the biggest changes in the 75-year history of F1. What is already clear, though, is that the FIA governing body has indicated that the cars will be quicker on the straights but slower through the corners due to reduced downforce, adding that it expects initial lap times to be between one and two-and-a-half seconds slower than the current cars. It anticipates, though, that the teams will reduce this gap as the season progresses. However, in a world where everything Formula 1-related so often gets better and, yes, faster, this does for now at least feel like something of a backward step, although lap times will thankfully not regress to Formula 2 levels. An increase in the level of close racing is hoped for, with the DRS drag reduction system set to be replaced by a Manual Override Mode alternative to provide a temporary power boost, which should assist overtaking but still make it difficult to achieve. Only time will tell how this all pans out in due course.

However, during a Grand Prix weekend the qualifying hour is where it first really matters, and Piastri claimed pole position from his British teammate by a mere 0.012s...

Lastly, following the sacking of Christian Horner by Red Bull shortly after July’s British Grand Prix, he was officially removed in mid-August as a director of the team’s key UK-registered companies. Interestingly though, Horner’s replacement as the Red Bull team principal, Laurent Mekies, hasn’t been made a director of any of the affected companies in his place, with the Frenchman set to have a far more limited role compared to Horner.

The Race

In a season dominated by McLaren, the Woking-based team arrived in the Netherlands with its drivers, Piastri and Lando Norris, just nine points apart and both obviously wanting to claim this year’s Drivers’ title. The opening free practice session of the weekend began on Friday afternoon at 12.30 local time, and after a summer of frequent heatwaves across Western Europe, the conditions at the coastal circuit proved to be cool and windy. Various drivers had excursions into the trackside gravel areas, the worst offender being Antonelli, who beached his Mercedes at Turn 9 and caused a temporary red flag interruption. Out front, it was business as usual as Norris and Piastri led the way, with the Aston Martin duo of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso repeating the improved form they had shown last time out in Hungary.

Isack Hadjar deserved his first ever podium finish

Over the years I’ve witnessed many racing drivers setting surprisingly fast lap times before ending up in the barriers, and this befell Stroll early in Friday’s subsequent second free practice period when the Canadian caused significant damage to the right-hand front and rear corners of his car, but fortunately not himself, after a hefty impact with the trackside barriers at Turn 3. Following the related red flag delay, a further one followed after Williams’ Alex Albon had an adventure into the Turn 1 gravel, and, come the conclusion of the session, Norris again topped the timing screens ahead of Alonso, Piastri and Russell. The action then resumed yesterday with the final practice hour, and Norris and Piastri set the pace, with Russell and Williams’ Carlos Sainz the best of the rest. Alonso and Stroll were unable to maintain their previous pace, and Hamilton, after spinning twice during the initial practice sessions, was only 14th quickest.

However, during a Grand Prix weekend the qualifying hour is where it first really matters, and Piastri claimed pole position from his British teammate by a mere 0.012s, as local hero Verstappen went third fastest. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar put in an outstanding effort, though, to join the reigning champion on the second row of the grid for today’s encounter, with Russell and Ferrari’s Leclerc set to start just behind them and Hamilton and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson on the fourth row.

The atmosphere around the tight and twisty coastal circuit was electric as the start neared, and particularly on the start/finish straight as loud pop music blared out and the usual mix of celebrities mingled on the grid, some actually being F1 fans and some obviously not, but reluctant to turn down such a privileged invitation. Following the formation lap, the twenty cars lined up on the grid for the all-important start, with everyone wondering which McLaren might have the early race lead and whether Verstappen might even be able to improve on his starting position. The answer was that Piastri retained his advantage and that Verstappen usurped Norris for second position at Turn 2, a move which was greeted by a deafening roar from the home fans.

You had to feel for Norris, though, just a handful of laps later when he was forced to park his smoking McLaren and retire from the race, with this representing a major disappointment for him re both the Grand Prix and the Drivers’ Championship fight.

On lap six, Piastri had edged over three seconds clear of Verstappen, and three tours later, Norris regained second position round the outside of his Dutch rival at the opening corner as Hadjar still held fourth place. Some slight rain began to fall on lap 16 and gradually increased, but there was high drama seven laps later when Hamilton lost control of his car at Turn 3 and crashed into the barriers, removing his front wing and front right wheel and forcing his immediate retirement. This triggered both a safety car intervention and a flurry of pit stops for fresh rubber.

Racing resumed on lap 27 before we had a brief virtual safety car period to enable swift removal of some on-track debris, and subsequently Leclerc then passed Russell for fifth position. Ahead of them the two McLarens were still followed by Verstappen and Hadjar, and it was clear that the Red Bull driver felt he had insufficient pace to catch the front pair.

Lewis Hamilton endured a further pointless race for Ferrari

On lap 53 Antonelli pitted for soft tyres and Ferrari responded just one tour later by doing likewise with Leclerc. However, as the latter rejoined the circuit just ahead of his Italian rival, the teenager hit the rear of the Ferrari, forcing Leclerc to retire, although the Mercedes driver was able to continue. A 10-second penalty for causing an avoidable accident followed, though, for the Mercedes protégé. The safety car was called back into action to enable the removal of Leclerc’s stricken car before returning down the pit lane at the end of lap 57, and the McLaren duo started to edge clear of Verstappen.

McLaren is set to take the Constructors’ title this year barring a totally unexpected reversal in its fortunes, but the fight for the Drivers’ one, despite today’s significant shift in favour of Piastri, isn’t over yet.

You had to feel for Norris, though, just a handful of laps later when he was forced to park his smoking McLaren and retire from the race, with this representing a major disappointment for him re both the Grand Prix and the Drivers’ Championship fight. This required a third safety car intervention of the afternoon, and in terms of the running order, Verstappen and Hadjar were promoted to second and third. Four more laps of racing followed, and the podium trio were still Piastri, Verstappen and an ecstatic Hadjar, who so deserved his first ever podium finish in his rookie season. Russell, Albon and Haas’ Oliver Bearman completed the leading sextet of finishers.

Next up in just one week’s time comes the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and, as a result, the key priority after this afternoon’s chequered flag was to get everything packed up as quickly as possible and bound for the famous high-speed circuit located just north of Milan. McLaren is set to take the Constructors’ title this year barring a totally unexpected reversal in its fortunes, but the fight for the Drivers’ one, despite today’s significant shift in favour of Piastri, isn’t over yet.


2025 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix
1 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1hr38m29.849s
2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.271s
3 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +3.233s
4 George Russell (Mercedes) +5.654s
5 Alex Albon (Williams) +6.327s
6 Oliver Bearman (Haas) +9.044s
7 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +9.497s
8 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +11.709s
9 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +13.597s
10 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +14.063s
11 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +14.511s
12 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +17.063s
13 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +17.376s
14 Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) +19.725s
15 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) +21.565s
16 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +22.029s
17 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +23.629s
18 Lando Norris (McLaren) Retired
19 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) Retired
20 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) Retired



2025 Drivers’ Championship
1 Oscar Piastri 309
2 Lando Norris 275
3 Max Verstappen 205

2025 Constructors’ Championship
1 McLaren 584
2 Ferrari 260
3 Mercedes 248