RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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If there were any fears after Saturday's mind-numbing sprint display that the Netherlands would send off its Formula 1 revival with a dud, then those fears were washed away in a sudden shower one hour before Sunday's race, around the time the starting grid started opening for business.
The rain didn't persist into the race itself, but caused just enough havoc to make Zandvoort's dune loop slippery, leading to carnage at the end of lap 1.
crashed car of Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen
crashed car of Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen
Loser: Max Verstappen
Of all people, it was home hero Max Verstappen who tripped up in the conditions, making a rare mistake by being too eager with his right foot coming onto the main straight. The otherwise flat-out Luyendyk corner was particularly damp, with Verstappen veering straight into the outside wall after tapping the white line on the inside.
The end result was a huge crash, though the Dutchman was fortunate not to be collected by oncoming traffic. It's not the end result he or the army of orange clad fans were hoping for on the event's swansong, but both the four-time world champion and Zandvoort have had a good run, with Verstappen winning the first three editions. Verstappen's contract extension, which is supposed to keep him in F1 until 2030, should soften the blow too.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
Winner: Lando Norris
Saturday's sprint didn't particularly fill McLaren with confidence, with the team's inferior race pace and tyre management on the medium compound making it unable to keep up with winner George Russell , while Ferrari also looked intrinsically quicker.
But in the hands of Norris, Sunday was a different story for the upgraded McLaren. While Norris was unable to hold off Antonelli on the standing restart, on Pirelli's hard tyre the reigning world champion was an absolute demon as he swept past the erstwhile leader and then picked off Lewis Hamilton on the same lap.
His team boss Andrea Stella credited the team's set-up adjustments after a much poorer sprint, but also reserved special praise for Norris as Oscar Piastri struggled much more aboard the other car.
"I think Lando had an extra [gear] in terms of understanding how to use this [hard] compound," Stella said. "These conditions, I think this is where he can express his natural driving style."
As his most recent grand prix wins in Budapest and Zandvoort have shown, Norris is arguably operating at his peak right now.
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Winner: Liam Lawson
Different car, different role, different team leadership. The circumstances around Liam Lawson's one-off Red Bull return couldn't have been more different than his first calamitous adventure with the squad at the start of 2025, which lasted all of two rounds.
Speak to anyone who works or has worked with him, and it is clear Lawson has changed too - more mature for the character-building experience, and more well-rounded as a grand prix driver.
That's all very easy to say, but in the Netherlands Lawson was actually handed a surprise opportunity to back that up with facts. Subbing for the injured Isack Hadjar , he soldiered on through his one-off weekend with aplomb, despite driving what he experienced as an "entirely different" car other than the power unit.
A distant seventh-place was all that was on offer on Sunday as Red Bull was the fourth-fastest team by some distance. This is all Red Bull could have asked for from its stand-in.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Loser: Ferrari
Yet another weekend goes by where Ferrari has a quick car but somehow manages not to bring it to the podium. Race weekend execution remains a sore topic for the Scuderia, between sub-optimal out-laps in qualifying to pitstops to race strategy.
Lewis Hamilton made an astute observation on Sunday, after getting fed up with Ferrari dilly-dallying on its decision to either swap positions with Charles Leclerc or pit his team-mate, as ended up happening. When George Russell was asked to swap with Kimi Antonelli, the Briton didn't particularly like it but immediately acted, with neither driver losing much time in the process.
" Mercedes execute like that," Hamilton said. "They've got the car that's fighting for the championship in the lead, and they did it straight away. Here I'm sitting back, losing seconds. Something that we need to discuss offline."
Things could have been different without the late virtual safety car, which likely saved Russell's podium spot from Hamilton. But all those little things are starting to add up as the seven-time world champion and Ferrari are trying to stay in the fight with an under-powered engine.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Winner: Fernando Alonso
The Zandvoort weekend was shaping up to be quite bleak for Aston Martin on Friday when driveability issues with Honda's upgraded engine made it hard enough for Fernando Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll to stay on the black stuff, never mind build on the team's Hungary progress.
There still weren't any miracles on Sunday, but there was enough performance in the AMR26 to make a bold one-stop strategy work for Alonso, getting one over Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the Racing Bulls drivers.
"Formula 1 is not a mysterious sport," said Alonso, the first driver aged 45 or older to score points since 1974. "You have to bring performance and outperform competitors to score points and it's what we are doing. So, congratulations everyone in Silverstone and hopefully we can bring more."
Alexander Albon, Williams, Carlos Sainz, Williams
Alexander Albon, Williams, Carlos...
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