The Formula 1 season is back at Zandvoort beach course this weekend and there is a lot on the line.
LANDO NORRIS TAKES POLE AT ZANDVOORT 💪#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/cOF2r0aGdq
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 22, 2026
This is round 12 of the 2026 season but it’s also a farewell and a big home race for Max Verstappen, the man who brought F1 back to this track in the first place.
End of an era
This will be the last Dutch Grand Prix here for a long time. The deal between the track and F1 was for just one more year and the organizers could not agree a longer contract.
So the track that Max Verstappen basically brought back to the F1 calendar is gone after Sunday.
Max will start seventh on the grid in what might be his final home race here
Title Race
Kimi Antonelli is still the championship leader. He’s now 53 points clear of Lewis Hamilton after Saturday’s sprint race. But things are getting closer up behind him.
George Russell won the sprint and has moved to just three points behind Hamilton in second. Mercedes also has a commanding 76-point advantage over Ferrari in the team standings.
Starting position matters
Lando Norris made a great final lap just as the rain was starting to fall to take pole position. Russell was second with a tenth of a second behind.
Antonelli was third between the Mercedes and McLaren drivers with Oscar Piastri fifth.
Ferrari’s Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will begin in row three. The start here is very important because overtaking is so difficult at Zandvoort.
The weather
Rain messed up both practice and the sprint on Friday and Saturday, making it wet and messy.
Sunday should be quieter with forecasts pointing to a dry race with cool conditions and only a small chance of rain.
The track is on the coast, so the wind can still play its part in the race
Other things to watch out for
The FIA investigated Hamilton, Verstappen and three other drivers for violating the rules in Saturday’s sprint but chose not to hand out any penalties.
Liam Lawson is standing in for injured Isack Hadjar. Fans also have had their issues getting to the track with reported train trouble in Amsterdam
Dutch Grand Prix takes place tomorrow and after that the race will head to Italy
