After a long wait, Formula One returns to action to resume the second half of the 2025 season, beginning with the FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN DUTCH GRAND PRIX 2025 at Zandvoort. Although the race dates back to the ’50s, it disappeared from the calendar after 1985, making a triumphant return in 2021. This is the penultimate running of the event, with the race set to drop off the calendar after 2026.
Max Verstappen has won his home race more than anyone in the current era, but Lando Norris was on top of the podium last year and will be looking to repeat that. Oscar Piastri is the driver with the advantage, narrowly taking the pole position from his teammate, separated by only 0.021s.
Piastri had a better start off the line, moving over to block his teammate on the run to the first corner. Verstappen, starting on the quicker soft tyres, overtook Norris into the first corner, trying to pick up another position around the outside of Piastri. The McLaren driver maintained his lead by closing the gap on the outside. On the dusty line, Verstappen nearly spun on the outside of turn two. He somehow managed to hold onto the car and keep his P2.
Charles Leclerc had a good start, promoting himself to the top five over George Russell. Isack Hadjar, who had his best-ever start from fourth on the grid, held his position in the opening laps, fending off the Ferrari behind. But Alex Albon was the real winner on the opening lap, climbing from P15 to P10 on the first lap.
The performance of Verstappen’s soft tyres declined rapidly compared to the medium tyres. On lap nine, Norris retook his P2 on the outside of Verstappen in the first corner. Now free from Verstappen, Norris began to chip away at Piastri’s gap, which was more than four seconds.
The threat of rain loomed early in the race, initially forecast for as early as lap ten. It wasn’t until lap 15 that drivers began reporting light drops of rain falling over the Circuit Zandvoort. Despite intensifying light rain, drivers at the back of the pack trickled into the pit lane for hard tyres. Leclerc was the first of the lead cars to pit for hard tyres, clearly not expecting the rain to increase to intermediate conditions.
It turned out to be bad timing for Leclerc, as the safety car was immediately deployed for his teammate. Lewis Hamilton had a snap of oversteer late in the banked turn three, but ran out of space to collect the car, running into the barrier. This gave all of the teams a chance to make their pit stops, most drivers opting for the hard tyres. Verstappen was the only driver to take a set of the faster medium tyres.
The race resumed on lap 27. Verstappen initially piled the pressure on Norris in the first two sectors, but dropped back in the final sector. Hadjar was also under pressure from Russell behind.
There was drama early on between Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz. Sainz was going to line up an overtake on the inside of the Racing Bulls car at the first corner, but Lawson went defensive. Sainz tried to make a move around the outside, but the gap closed and the two made contact. This gave both drivers a puncture, forcing them to limp back to the pit lane, essentially ending their races. The incident earned Sainz a ten-second penalty for causing a collision.
The virtual safety car was deployed a few laps later, as Sainz’s Williams shed some debris on the main straight. The trackside marshals quickly cleaned the debris, and racing resumed.
There was further drama when the VSC ended. Russell had a poor start, giving Leclerc a run down the back straight. Leclerc was very brave on the brakes into turn 11, trying to stick his Ferrari around the outside of the Mercedes. The right-hand turn 11 quickly changed into a left-hand turn 12. Leclerc held on the inside, the two drivers making contact as Leclerc muscled his way through. He promoted himself to P5, but the legality of the move caught the attention of the stewards. Unfortunately, this move will be judged after the race.
With some floor and underbody damage, Russell could not keep up with Leclerc. After ten laps, teammate Kimi Antonelli was within DRS range, and the Mercedes pit wall was eager to swap positions to allow the rookie to chase down the Ferrari. Russell complied, although seemingly caught off guard by the request.
While the rest of the field switched into tyre conservation mode, trying to make the race a one-stop race, Antonelli took the gamble on pitting for soft tyres on lap 52. Ferrari decided to cover off the threat by pitting Leclerc for a set of soft tyres.
Leclerc left the pit lane narrowly ahead of Antonelli, but was slower with cold tyres. Antonelli tried to dive on the inside of Leclerc at the lower end of the banked third corner. However, Antonelli could not keep his Mercedes low into the corner, understeering into the Ferrari. Leclerc spun into the barriers, retiring from the race. The safety car was deployed almost immediately, meaning Antonelli would not lose much time crawling back to the pit lane to replace his punctured tyre. It wouldn’t matter much for the Mercedes rookie, as the stewards handed him a ten-second penalty for causing a collision. To make matters worse, Antonelli earned a further five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
The safety car was an opportunity for the field to convert their one-stop strategies into a two-stop, diving into the pit lane. Cars emerged with a variety of tyre compounds. Most of the top runners took the quicker soft tyres, but both McLaren cars were fitted with sets of used hard tyres. This briefly put Norris under pressure from Verstappen when the race restarted on lap 58, but the two McLarens rapidly pulled away from the rest of the field, such was the pace of the McLarens at the Dutch Grand Prix.
But exceptional pace could not protect Norris from mechanical failure. The Brit began to report smelling smoke in the cockpit on lap 66. As a plume of smoke puffed out of the rear of his McLaren, he came to a halt on the circuit, ending his race.
The safety car was deployed to clear the stuck McLaren. The race resumed with three laps remaining in the race. Verstappen gave it his all to try and cling to the back of the sole remaining McLaren. He tried, but the pace of the McLarens was simply too strong, and he would have to settle for P2.
But the real shock was Isack Hadjar, who successfully converted his highest-ever qualifying position to his highest-ever race finish, earning a step on the podium. Oliver Bearman also impressed with a P6 finish after starting from the pit lane. Alex Albon also did well to climb ten places into the top five.
There will be little time for rest with the next race just around the corner. Next up, Formula One will return to Italy for the second time this season, this time at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, which will be held on September 7.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72 | 1:38:29.849 | 25 |  | |
| 2 | 72 | +1.271 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 72 | +3.233 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 72 | +5.654 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 72 | +6.327 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 72 | +9.044 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 72 | +9.497 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 72 | +11.709 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 72 | +13.597 | 2 | ||
| 10 | 72 | +14.063 | 1 | ||
| 11 | 72 | +14.511 | |||
| 12 | 72 | +17.063 | |||
| 13 | 72 | +17.376 | |||
| 14 | 72 | +19.725 | |||
| 15 | 72 | +21.565 | |||
| 16 | 72 | +22.029 | |||
| 17 | 72 | +23.629 | |||
| DNF | 64 | ||||
| DNF | 52 | ||||
| DNF | 22 |
| 1 | O. Piastri | 309 |  | |
| 2 | L. Norris | 275 | -34 | |
| 3 | M. Verstappen | 205 | -104 | |
| 4 | G. Russell | 184 | -125 | |
| 5 | C. Leclerc | 151 | -158 | |
| 1 | McLaren | 584 | | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 260 | -324 | |
| 3 | Mercedes | 248 | -336 | |
| 4 | Red Bull | 214 | -370 | |
| 5 | Williams | 80 | -504 | |
