Ferrari left the Dutch Grand Prix without the podium that Lewis Hamilton appeared capable of fighting for, despite showing front-running race pace at Zandvoort. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion finished fourth after a late attack on George Russell, while Charles Leclerc crossed the line fifth as strategy calls and two Virtual Safety Car periods shaped the closing stages.
Recovering ground had been Ferrari’s objective from the start. The Dutch Grand Prix, round 12 of the 2026 Formula 1 season, followed a qualifying session in which the Scuderia had failed to extract the maximum from the SF-26, leaving Lewis Hamilton fifth and Charles Leclerc sixth on the grid. The intention was therefore clear: produce a strong race and turn the weekend around.
Ferrari attacks on Soft tyres as Dutch GP weather creates chaos
The weather was the first major factor to consider. Conditions were unstable and the probability of rain was extremely high, forcing the Ferrari pit wall to continually assess how best to approach the start. One crucial tactical choice separated the Scuderia from Mercedes and McLaren: both Ferraris started on Soft tyres, giving them a compound advantage that Ferrari intended to exploit fully during the opening phase.
When the lights went out, Charles Leclerc produced an excellent clutch release and jumped from sixth to fourth, passing both his team-mate and Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. There was barely enough time for the field to settle before heavy rain hit the Dutch circuit, throwing the teams’ plans into disarray.
The situation culminated in Max Verstappen’s heavy accident. The red flag was inevitable, and every car returned to a pit lane that temporarily became a parking area while the marshals cleared the large amount of debris scattered across the circuit and recovered the four-time Formula 1 world champion’s Red Bull. The interruption also gave officials time to inspect the overall condition of the track.
Charles Leclerc loses a place after the restart
After a stoppage of approximately 25 minutes, the drivers returned to their cars. The rain had stopped, having come in the form of an intense shower that lasted no more than three minutes.
Ferrari kept both cars on Soft tyres despite having the opportunity to change compounds. Mercedes also retained its previous tyres, while McLaren split its approach: Lando Norris used Softs and Oscar Piastri switched to Hards.
The cars left the pit lane and returned to the grid for a standing restart. Just when everything appeared ready, however, race control ordered an additional formation lap because Oliver Bearman had stopped at Turn 11 following contact with the barriers. Another lap was therefore removed from the racing distance while the marshals recovered the British driver’s Haas.
Charles Leclerc did not make a poor restart, but Oscar Piastri took fourth place away from him after Turn 2. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, remained sixth. On the following lap, Hamilton reported over the radio that slight understeer was limiting him during corner entry.
Over the next ten laps, the race moved into a management phase, with the positions established after the second start effectively remaining unchanged.
Ferrari extends the opening stint at Zandvoort
Around lap 18, Charles Leclerc began putting George Russell under pressure. The Mercedes driver stopped one lap later to change tyres, prompting the Ferrari pit wall to call Leclerc in to cover the undercut. It was only a dummy call, however, designed to disguise Ferrari’s intentions. Car number 16 stayed on track and switched to Plan B, while Hamilton continued to receive confirmation of the strategy labelled Plan A.
Oscar Piastri also changed tyres and, like George Russell, moved onto the Hard compound. Charles Leclerc made his own stop only three laps later, choosing Mediums and making a front-wing adjustment by adding two points of load.
When Leclerc returned to the circuit, he found himself once again behind the driver he had previously overtaken and also behind Hamilton, whose opening stint was being extended further. Ferrari’s approach reflected the importance of tyre life and strategic flexibility that had already been highlighted in the Dutch GP tyre strategy analysis before the race.
Soon afterwards came the first tyre-phase update for Lewis Hamilton, who reported that his tyres were still okay. Two laps later it was his turn to stop, moving onto the white-marked Pirelli Hard compound. Hamilton rejoined in sixth place, behind his team-mate, but with tyres five laps fresher than Leclerc’s and eight laps fresher than George Russell’s.
Hamilton and Leclerc both pass Oscar Piastri
Ferrari’s pit wall was satisfied with the pace and communicated that message to both drivers. The Grand Prix still had almost 50 laps remaining, leaving plenty of opportunities for the order to change. However, while Charles Leclerc was already running directly behind Oscar Piastri, Hamilton’s later stop had left the British driver around seven seconds away from the leading group.
Based on the lap times, however, the deficit appeared entirely recoverable.
Charles Leclerc refused to let Piastri escape. After studying the McLaren for five laps, he attacked on the exit of Turn 1 with a switchback and moved ahead. Lewis Hamilton soon did the same, sweeping past the Australian on the start-finish straight. The two Ferraris had each gained a position and were now running fourth and fifth, with George Russell’s Mercedes the next target in the fight for the podium.
Although tyre management remained necessary, particularly for Leclerc on the Medium compound, the Ferrari pace was genuinely strong and comparable to the leading three cars. The handling was also very good, while the slight lack of rotation that had previously limited Hamilton’s car on corner entry had disappeared.
Charles Leclerc was soon in George Russell’s slipstream, with Hamilton following closely behind. It was another indication that the SF-26’s improved race performance at Zandvoort was more competitive than Ferrari’s qualifying positions had suggested.
Lewis Hamilton frustrated by Ferrari strategy over Leclerc
With the Ferraris closing, George Russell headed into the pits. Charles Leclerc was theoretically called in as well, but he was not convinced and extended his stint. The decision angered Hamilton, who was directly behind on fresher tyres and expressed his frustration over the radio.
Another lap passed before car number 16 finally stopped. Hamilton then made an ironic comment to the team about the race time he felt had been lost while running behind his team-mate. It was one of the key strategic flashpoints of Ferrari’s afternoon, adding to Hamilton’s wider frustration with Ferrari’s Dutch GP strategy.
Lewis Hamilton, who had still not made his next stop, was now running second. Charles Leclerc rejoined after his tyre change still behind George Russell, although his tyres were four laps fresher.
Ferrari prolonged Hamilton’s stint for several more laps. During this phase, the pit wall asked whether he wanted an adjustment to the front-wing load and which compound he preferred for his final stop. Hamilton was happy with the existing downforce level, but when it came to tyres he wanted the pit wall to recommend the most suitable compound based on the available data.
The stint was extended for so long that Hamilton eventually found himself leading the Dutch Grand Prix. Ferrari’s strategy was clear: give him a short final stint with a lighter fuel load and fresher tyres than his rivals, allowing him to extract the maximum possible advantage late in the race.
Virtual Safety Car gives Hamilton a strategic opportunity
Before that final stop arrived, Lando Norris and Andrea Kimi Antonelli caught Hamilton and overtook him using the advantage of their newer tyres. Hamilton was just about to come into the pits when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed, suddenly working in his favour.
The Ferrari driver made a quick trip through the pit lane and fitted Soft tyres. Charles Leclerc followed immediately behind as the Scuderia executed a double stack, a sequence covered in the Dutch GP Virtual Safety Car strategy update.
The double stack cost Leclerc a position to the seven-time world champion. Both Ferrari drivers now had fresh tyres. Ahead of them, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, in third place, was also running fresh rubber, while George Russell was second on a set of Hard tyres that had already completed 17 laps. Race leader Lando Norris was on Hards that were ten laps old.
That was the situation with 13 laps remaining. Charles Leclerc was visibly frustrated over the radio, finding himself five seconds behind Hamilton and effectively cut out of the immediate fight by Ferrari’s strategic decision. Hamilton, by contrast, still believed there was an opportunity and asked what pace he needed to maintain in order to attack the cars ahead.
Lewis Hamilton’s Dutch GP podium chance disappears at the end
With seven laps remaining, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with Lewis Hamilton following behind, prepared to attack his Mercedes team-mate for third place. The Italian passed George Russell without difficulty and set off after Lando Norris.
Hamilton’s turn came next. The Ferrari driver attacked Russell in pursuit of a podium place, but the Mercedes initially resisted. Charles Leclerc also returned to the fight as Hamilton lost significant time behind Russell.
Just as the battle was reaching its decisive moment, another Virtual Safety Car was deployed. This time, rather than helping Hamilton, the neutralisation worked against him. When racing resumed, he had only one lap left in which to try to pass Russell.
Unfortunately for Ferrari, Hamilton could not complete the move. He finished fourth, with Charles Leclerc directly behind in fifth. The final classification confirmed another podium missed despite an encouraging race, with the Scuderia’s underlying pace proving much stronger than its starting positions had suggested. The complete 2026 Dutch GP results underline just how close Hamilton ultimately finished to Russell.
For Ferrari, it was nevertheless a good performance that reinforced the feeling that a better opportunity had been lost in qualifying, when the team failed to optimise the SF-26’s potential. Zandvoort showed that the car had enough race pace to compete at the front, but strategy, traffic and the timing of the neutralisations prevented Lewis Hamilton from converting that performance into a podium.
Ferrari can now take time to analyse what happened before turning its attention to Monza and the Italian Grand Prix, the Scuderia’s home race.
