15:24
Black-and-white warning flag for Piastri. Simply put, don't do it again!
Verstappen at Zandvoort
© XPB Images
LIVE
F1 Zandvoort LIVE: Norris leads Dutch GP after Verstappen smash
Live coverage of Sunday at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Hadjar out injured; Lawson in at Red Bull, Tsunoda at Racing Bulls
- Norris on pole from Russell
- Minimal chance of rain
Zandvoort makes its final F1 bow this weekend after hosting the sixth race of its comeback stint on the calendar. Max Verstappen has previously taken two wins on home soil, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have shared the other two victories to date.
As F1 returns from its summer break, there are limited upgrades on display, with Aston Martin and Alpine attracting the most attention. The former is due to the power unit upgrade being brought by Honda. Although early indications suggested a power boost of between 30-50bhp, expectations were cooled ahead of the weekend, before Fernando Alonso qualified slowest for the sprint race.
Alpine, however, has brought an eight-part aerodynamic upgrade for Pierre Gasly's car. The changes appear to have worked, with the Frenchman returning to the top 10 in sprint qualifying.
A wrist injury to Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar has seen a switch of drivers at both the front-running team and Racing Bulls, with Liam Lawson moving up to replace the Frenchman, whilst veteran Yuki Tsunoda has been drafted in to partner Arvid Lindblad.
George Russell took both pole and the win in the sprint race, but lines up second to Lando Norris on Sunday. Kimi Antonelli is third ahead of Oscar Piastri and the two Ferrari drivers.
Rain was expected to play a part in the weekend, but the effect has been minimal with the precipitation failing to materialise during a session. There remains a chance of rain on Sunday, but the percentage is low.
2026 Dutch Grand Prix Sunday schedule
Grand Prix: 2:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
23 Aug 2026
15:27
Russell stops
Mercedes double-stacks its drivers and both stops were solid. Brilliant work, as - barring anything strange - the mechanics' work is done.
15:26
Antonelli pits
Antonelli stops from the lead and it's a solid stop this time around.
15:23
Ferrari move on up, and have desires for the podium.
15:21
Piastri has been noted for driving erratically. His defensive move was slightly late, but it was predictable, so it shouldn't be a problem...if common sense prevails.
15:20
Hamilton needs no second chance. He moves to the inside of Turn 1 and Piastri can do nothing about the seven-time champion.
15:19
Around the final corner once more, and Piastri makes a switchback move into Turn 1. Leclerc keeps his foot in and secures fourth place at Turn 3. Hamilton is now on his gearbox.
15:18
Leclerc is all over Piastri now. He's pulling around a tenth closer each lap, but Hamilton is catching both drivers. He won't want to be held up by either of the pair.
15:15
Half a second at the front. Norris is charging!
15:13
At the front, Norris has closed to within a second of Antonelli. Russell is 6.7s back with Piastri 1.7s further back. The top two could do battle very soon.
15:13
This midfield battle between Lindblad, Gasly, and Tsunoda is crazy! Hulkenberg just jumped the trio, who are going wheel-to-wheel and teasing contact almost at every corner.
Whoa! What a move from Tsunoda at Turn 6! He throws it to the inside and Gasly is down to 13th.
15:09
However, reacting to the threat, Hamilton is told to pit.
He comes in, has the hard tyre fitted, and comes out in sixth place. But with track position being key here, even his eight-lap tyre delta over Piastri likely won't be enough of a difference.
15:07
"Tyres are ok," reports Hamilton. He's done 25 laps on the soft tyre, but is losing two seconds per lap to Antonelli, Norris and Russell, who are steaming up onto his gearbox.
The gap is down to 3.1s, and he will be a sitting duck in just over a lap.
15:05
And as quickly as it shows "WET", the screen flicks back to "DRY".
15:04
As per the timing screen, the rain has returned.
15:04
Slow stop for Leclerc
Norris and Antonelli stop with slow stops, and Leclerc also has a slow one. What is going on here?
Hamilton takes the lead through not yet stopping.
15:01
Mercedes gain through McLaren's pain. At least they're not too happy about that...
14:59
Pit disaster for Piastri
Piastri comes in, but it's a slow stop, and Russell jumps him. What was McLaren playing about there? Insanity!
A complete disaster for the Australian.
14:58
Russell pits
Russell dives into the pits. A 3s stop and he fits hard tyres. He's trying an undercut and a possible one-stop, but he's come out right behind Hulkenberg and Gasly. He needs to clear this traffic swiftly.
Hulkenberg forces Russell to go all the way around the outside of Turn 10.
14:57
Asked how his tyres are, Piastri says: "It's ok. It doesn't feel much different to the medium."
He could do a one-stop plan here.
14:56
"I've got pace zero mate. I've got nothing else," reports Norris. He's 1.8s back on Antonelli with Piastri five seconds further back, protecting his tyres in clean air.
Behind, Leclerc is piling on the pressure to Russell.
14:54
Russell is asking Mercedes to "consider original plan A". He's on medium tyres at present, but we'll find out soon whether this is a one or two-stop plan.
14:51
Bearman and Bortoleto will be investigated after the race for exiting the pits under a red light. Why this can't be sorted here and now is anyone's guess!
14:49
He may be out, but Verstappen will likely remain the story of the weekend. Confirming a new Red Bull deal ahead of the event, things have not gong the way he would have hoped ever since.
14:47
Oh no. Bortoleto and Bearman have now been noted for leaving the pit lane when the red light was on. Stroll, as we know, stopped. But it seems the light changed sooner than we were previously aware.