The return of Formula 1 after the summer break had everything in Zandvoort. Lando Norris took the Dutch Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli finished second and George Russell completed the podium, in a race marked by the serious accident of Max Verstappen on the first lap and a difficult day for Franco Colapinto, who finished 14th after receiving two harsh penalties.
Rain had appeared during the buildup, but it stopped before the start and left the track dry enough for the 22 drivers to begin on slick tires. Norris maintained the lead at the start, although Antonelli overtook his teammate Russell to move into second. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc also gained positions, advancing from sixth to fourth place.
The first major incident came before even completing the first lap. Verstappen lost control of his Red Bull after hitting the inner white line of turn 14, the last corner of the circuit, and crashed violently into the outer wall before bouncing back inward. Fortunately, the Dutchman emerged unscathed, but the damage to his car forced his retirement and caused the red flag.
The restart occurred almost half an hour later. The drivers were able to change their tires during the interruption, and among the front runners, Norris switched from mediums to softs. However, the strategy did not work as he had hoped, and Antonelli took advantage to overtake him at the first corner and take the lead.
For Colapinto, the situation was more complex. The Argentine had restarted from tenth place, but lost a position to Nico Hülkenberg. Shortly after, he received a drive-through penalty for a violation under yellow flags during the neutralization and had to pit for 20 seconds, dropping to last place among the drivers still in the race.
While Antonelli tried to pull away at the front, an intense strategic battle began. Russell was the first of the leaders to pit, followed by Piastri, and then came a series of stops from Antonelli, Norris, and Leclerc. During that process, Hamilton temporarily inherited the lead, although the fight for victory was still open.
The race changed again when Norris made his second stop on lap 48. The Brit returned to the track in third, but with fresher tires than his main rivals. His performance advantage quickly became apparent, overtaking Hamilton and Antonelli in the following laps to position himself first.
Shortly after, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to the retirement of Esteban Ocon and Mercedes took the opportunity to call Antonelli back to the pits and put on soft tires. Ferrari did the same with both of its drivers. With the green flag back on track, Norris was in front with a six-second lead over Russell.
In the final stretch, Antonelli began to close the gap. Even Mercedes asked Russell to yield the position on lap 65, an order that the Brit complied with despite being exposed to Hamilton, who had better tires.
A new VSC, this time for debris caused by a collision between the Williams, interrupted the race with only a few laps remaining. The green flag appeared on the penultimate lap and Norris had the situation under control. The McLaren driver crossed the finish line with about ten seconds of advantage over Antonelli and achieved his second consecutive victory after the one in Hungary.
Further back, Russell managed to hold onto third place against Hamilton and Leclerc, while Piastri, Lawson, Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso, and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten. For his part, Colapinto could not escape from the back at the finish. The Argentine received a second 10-second penalty for another violation under yellow flags and finished 14th, two laps behind the leader.
Results of the Hungarian Grand Prix
1st - Lando Norris (McLaren) | +25
2nd - Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) | +18
3rd - George Russell (Mercedes) | +15
4th - Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) | +12
5th - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | +10
6th - Oscar Piastri (McLaren) | +8
7th - Liam Lawson (Red Bull) | +6
8th - Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) | +4
9th - Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) | +2
10th - Pierre Gasly (Alpine) | +1
11th - Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) | +0
12th - Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) | +0
13th - Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) | +0
14th - Franco Colapinto (Alpine) | +0
15th - Checo Perez (Cadillac) | +0
16th - Carlos Sainz (Williams) | +0
17th - Alex Albon (Williams) – DNF
18th - Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) – DNF
19th - Esteban Ocon (Haas) – DNF
20th - Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – DNF
21st - Oliver Bearman (Haas) – DNF
22nd - Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – DNF
