Lando Norris turned the hard tyre into McLaren’s decisive weapon at the Dutch Grand Prix, neutralising Ferrari’s ambitious strategic gamble and delivering a second consecutive victory for the reigning world champions. The British driver adapted better than several of his rivals to the compound that ultimately shaped the race at Zandvoort, while Ferrari once again showed strong Sunday pace with the SF-26 without converting its potential into the result that appeared possible.
Zandvoort’s final Formula 1 dance ended with another McLaren victory, reflecting the progress made both by the Woking team and by Lando Norris. Much of the credit belongs to the reigning world champion’s ability to exploit the hard tyres, which instead created significant difficulties for several leading drivers, including Kimi Antonelli. Ferrari sensed an opportunity and attempted a major strategic gamble with Lewis Hamilton, but McLaren’s pace eventually proved too strong.
McLaren’s hard-tyre breakthrough changes the Dutch GP
The second race of the weekend began with Kimi Antonelli setting the pace. The Italian was incisive at both starts and managed to take the lead, appearing in control throughout the opening phase while running the softer compounds. Once the hard tyres went on, however, he was unable to shake off Lando Norris.
That was the first genuine surprise. During the Sprint, the MCL40 had struggled with rear-tyre degradation, but McLaren worked effectively on both set-up and driving styles to improve the situation. According to Andrea Stella, however, the biggest difference came from the hard compound itself, a tyre that only Red Bull had tested on Friday. The significance of that compound had already been highlighted before the race in Pirelli’s Zandvoort tyre strategy assessment.
Not everyone understood how to bring the hard tyre into its optimum operating window and make it work consistently. Lando Norris, by contrast, adapted instinctively and extracted the maximum from the compound.
Kimi Antonelli began to struggle during his third stint, his second on the hard tyres, to the point that he was unable to put into practice the driving advice being given over team radio. Lando Norris consequently closed in, forcing Mercedes to bring Kimi Antonelli into the pits to protect against the undercut. McLaren then extended Lando Norris’s stint by another six laps, building a tyre advantage for the closing stages.
Ferrari attempts a bold one-stop strategy with Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari recognised the opportunity and went for the big result. The Scuderia attempted to take Lewis Hamilton to the finish on a one-stop strategy, hoping to exploit Kimi Antonelli’s difficulties and keep the Mercedes behind. It was an aggressive approach from a team whose SF-26 had again demonstrated that Zandvoort suited several of its underlying strengths.
The impression was that defending against Mercedes would not have been impossible. However, when Kimi Antonelli attempted to attack Lewis Hamilton, he unintentionally opened the door for Lando Norris, who immediately seized the opportunity.
McLaren’s pace was irresistible for Ferrari from that point. Once Lewis Hamilton found himself in Lando Norris’s dirty air, the Ferrari driver soon had to surrender his position to Kimi Antonelli as well.
Ferrari has the speed, but execution again costs points
Mercedes did not give up. The team tried to exploit the Virtual Safety Car triggered by Esteban Ocon’s stopped car to fit Kimi Antonelli with a fresh set of tyres, a strategy the Italian himself described as risky. Not only did Kimi Antonelli risk rejoining behind Charles Leclerc had the Monegasque not also stopped, but Mercedes was forced to instruct George Russell to let his team-mate through, costing the British driver valuable seconds that could have put his podium at risk.
George Russell’s direct rivals were the two Ferraris. Both SF-26s showed stronger pace than his Mercedes, yet Ferrari once again failed to capitalise because its execution was lacking. It reinforced the concern subsequently highlighted by Frédéric Vasseur after the Dutch Grand Prix: outright car potential is not Ferrari’s only challenge.
At the second start, for example, Oscar Piastri surprised both Ferraris despite being on hard tyres while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were running softs. The delay cost the Ferrari drivers valuable time during the opening phase. The Scuderia then lost a few seconds too many during the pit stops, delays that ultimately proved decisive.
From a strategic perspective, however, Ferrari was correct to repeatedly delay Charles Leclerc’s stops in order to build a tyre advantage. For that reason, the Monegasque driver’s final stop under the Virtual Safety Car appeared avoidable, given that he already held an advantage of around half a second per lap over George Russell’s Mercedes at that stage.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, was left frustrated by the time lost during the two laps he spent behind Charles Leclerc. Ferrari’s original plan had called for Charles Leclerc to stop immediately, but the strategy department subsequently decided to extend his stint by another lap.
Despite everything, both Ferraris managed to close back onto George Russell in the final stages. The Mercedes driver was effectively rescued at the moment of greatest vulnerability by a fortunate Virtual Safety Car, preventing Ferrari from fully exploiting its late-race pace.
McLaren hungry for more after Budapest and Zandvoort wins
After consecutive victories in Budapest and Zandvoort, the obvious question is whether McLaren can become the reference point during the second half of the season. The reality is that every circuit could tell a different story, especially because the previous two venues shared several characteristics.
The MCL40 currently excels on high-downforce, twisting circuits, taking advantage of its race pace and short gear ratios while also distinguishing itself through high-speed corners. At the same time, McLaren still struggles in slower sections, meaning circuits such as Baku and Singapore could prove much less comfortable.
Monza will create another very different test. Straight-line speed and effectiveness under braking will carry considerable importance there, and neither characteristic is currently among the Woking car’s strongest qualities. Ferrari, meanwhile, is placing significant hopes on the updated power unit planned for the Italian Grand Prix.
What is clear is that McLaren has made significant progress through the upgrades introduced in Hungary and the Netherlands. The team now wants confirmation that those improvements can translate to circuits with very different characteristics.
Lando Norris continues to strengthen his weaknesses
McLaren’s development under Andrea Stella has been matched by Lando Norris’s own progression. At Zandvoort, the reigning world champion made the difference not only through qualities that were already among his strengths, such as tyre understanding and race pace, but also through improvements in areas that had previously caused him greater difficulty.
Until last year, extracting everything over a single qualifying lap and showing maximum decisiveness during overtaking were not necessarily Lando Norris’s strongest attributes. In the Netherlands, however, he delivered another pole position and passed Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton in less than one lap.
Andrea Stella has spoken of a change in the way Lando Norris has worked since the beginning of 2025, with the benefits continuing to become increasingly visible on track. Combined with McLaren’s technical progress, that evolution is helping to make the British driver an increasingly complete threat.
Mercedes waits for upgrades while Ferrari needs results
McLaren’s chances of adding further victories will also depend on how its rivals respond. September is expected to bring the debut of Mercedes’ long-awaited upgrades, which could potentially propel the W17 to the front of the field.
The Brackley team is also benefiting from changes to the 2027 technical regulations, after which the FIA granted an additional three million dollars within the budget cap, freeing further resources for development. Even without those upgrades, Mercedes has defended its position effectively so far, even gaining points on Ferrari across Budapest and Zandvoort.
Ferrari, by contrast, had opportunities to score considerably more at both events. The Dutch weekend followed extensive work to improve the SF-26, including Ferrari’s accelerated Zandvoort upgrade programme, but the available performance was again not fully reflected in the final result.
Kimi Antonelli can therefore continue believing in his world championship dream. The Italian was again quicker than George Russell in the Netherlands, where the British driver had performed strongly through Saturday before fading on the most important day of the weekend.
Ferrari’s biggest problem is no longer pure SF-26 pace
Ferrari’s assessment is different. The Scuderia’s main problem is clearly not outright pace, but its ability to exploit that speed when it matters, beginning with qualifying. At Zandvoort, Ferrari struggled with preparing new tyres for a single qualifying lap, while in the race it again collected less than appeared possible because of starts, pit stops and strategic decisions.
Execution therefore remains the priority. That message had already been central to Frédéric Vasseur’s approach heading into the Dutch Grand Prix, with Formula 1 once again becoming, in Andrea Stella’s words, “brutal”. Three teams are separated by only a few tenths, meaning a failure to put every element together can quickly turn a fight at the front into sixth place.
The SF-26 also desperately needs more straight-line speed. Improving that area would not only reduce lap-time losses but would make attacking and defending significantly easier during races. Ferrari therefore has high hopes for the updated engine expected to make its debut at Monza, where the Scuderia will have to contend not only with Mercedes but also with a McLaren that has rediscovered its winning form.
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