Zandvoort, Netherlands, August 23, 2026: Lando Norris described his victory at the 2026 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix as “probably one of my better wins” after McLaren driver fought back from losing the lead to Kimi Antonelli to secure his second consecutive Grand Prix victory at Zandvoort.

Norris converted pole position into victory at the final Dutch Grand Prix of this era, while Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell completed the podium in second and third respectively.

The result confirmed McLaren’s strong recent form, with Norris following up his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix and putting the team firmly back in contention for the championship.

Norris: ‘That move won me the race’

Norris admitted that his victory was far from straightforward after Antonelli overtook him at the restart following the opening-lap red flag.

The McLaren driver eventually reclaimed the lead with a decisive move at Turn 1.

“I knew I was not going to get many chances,” Norris explained after the race. “Every lap I spent behind him my odds were getting lower and lower.”

Norris said he recognised an opportunity when Lewis Hamilton defended and made adjustments to his brake balance before committing to the move.

“That move won me the race,” Norris said. “I knew I had to make it, and I probably had one chance to really make it happen, and I made the most of it.”

The victory was particularly satisfying for Norris given the difficult conditions and multiple strategic twists throughout the race.

“Probably one of my better wins. We had to fight for it, but the pace was very strong and managed things incredibly well today,” Norris said.

Norris Refuses to Get Carried Away in Championship Fight

Despite securing back-to-back victories, Norris played down suggestions that McLaren could be mounting a major championship comeback.

Asked whether the result could develop into a comeback similar to Max Verstappen’s previous championship charge, Norris insisted that his focus remains on the next race.

“It sounds boring, but one race at a time,” Norris said.

The McLaren driver acknowledged that the team’s recent upgrades have delivered a significant performance boost but stressed that there is still work to be done.

“I think there’s still plenty of things we can do better, and we need to do better if we want to fight for a championship,” he said.

Norris also warned that McLaren cannot afford to become complacent as rivals continue developing their cars.

“There’s still plenty of races, plenty of opportunity for everyone. So, keep my head down, keep working, and they’ll keep coming.”

Antonelli: Mercedes No Longer Has the Fastest Car

Kimi Antonelli finished second after leading the race for a significant period, but the Mercedes driver admitted that his car became increasingly difficult to manage during the second half of the Grand Prix.

Antonelli initially felt comfortable on the Medium tyres, but his confidence dropped significantly once he switched to the Hard compound.

“It was a difficult second half for me, especially in the last stint on the Hards, just really struggling,” Antonelli said.

“I had little confidence in the car.”

The Mercedes driver said the second set of Hard tyres felt particularly unusual, with the car sliding heavily and losing performance.

“I felt good with the Medium. I felt decent on the first Hard, but then on the second one it just felt really odd, really odd to drive, and just sliding a lot,” he explained.

Antonelli believes Mercedes must now investigate the significant drop in performance.

‘McLaren Has Taken a Huge Step’

Antonelli was particularly candid about McLaren’s current performance advantage.

The Mercedes driver admitted that his team is no longer the fastest package on the Formula 1 grid.

“For sure, we’re clearly not the fastest car anymore on the grid,” Antonelli said. “We’re probably second or third, at least in today’s race.”

He believes McLaren’s recent upgrade package has transformed its competitiveness.

“McLaren has taken a huge step, especially since Hungary, since the big upgrade package they brought,” Antonelli said.

Mercedes is already preparing another development package, with Antonelli confident that the team can respond.

“The team has been working super hard on this next package that is coming up, and they just want to make sure that it’s going to work out well once we put it on,” he added.

Antonelli Praises Mercedes Team After Russell Swap

Antonelli also acknowledged George Russell’s role in securing his second-place finish.

Mercedes instructed Russell to allow Antonelli through after the Italian had made a late pit stop for fresh tyres during the Virtual Safety Car period.

Antonelli said the decision helped secure second place but admitted Mercedes had taken some risk with the strategy.

“I still think, at the end of the day, it was a great team execution with how things were,” Antonelli said.

He also felt Mercedes could potentially have kept him out until the finish on the existing tyres, but accepted that second place was ultimately the maximum available.

“I think today P2 was the maximum we could have done because the pace of the McLarens, especially in the second half, was just too strong.”

Russell Secures Podium After Late Hamilton Pressure

George Russell completed the podium after a tense final phase in which he had to defend from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

Russell admitted that the race could easily have ended differently.

“It was tough,” Russell said. “Happy to be standing here on the podium because it could have gone either way.”

The Mercedes driver explained that the Virtual Safety Car created a difficult situation because Hamilton was able to make a relatively cheap pit stop for fresh tyres.

Russell, however, had been performing strongly on the Hard compound and used his pace through the high-speed corners to protect his position.

“I was managing enough in the high-speed corners to allow me to be fast in Sector 3 and defending into Turn 1,” Russell explained.

He said he was pleased with his defensive performance despite coming under considerable pressure.

Russell Admits McLaren Is ‘Mighty Impressive’

Russell’s assessment of Mercedes’ weekend was similar to Antonelli’s.

While the Briton believes Mercedes remains competitive, he acknowledged that McLaren’s recent improvement has changed the competitive picture.

“McLaren are mighty impressive and Ferrari’s race pace today also looked really strong,” Russell said.

He also believes McLaren’s current advantage could continue for the next few races.

“I think this may continue for the coming two or three races until we start to bring more to the car, and fingers crossed our competitors don’t.”

Russell pointed to the similarities between Zandvoort and the Hungaroring, where Norris had also won.

Both circuits feature long corners, high tyre degradation and two-stop strategies, making McLaren’s current advantage particularly relevant.

“I don’t think it’s a major surprise for us, seeing how competitive Lando was this weekend, considering he won in Budapest,” Russell said.

Mercedes Faces Development Battle

The comments from both Mercedes drivers underline the scale of the challenge facing the team after Zandvoort.

Antonelli remains the Drivers’ Championship leader and leaves the Netherlands with valuable points, while Russell’s podium ensures Mercedes also limits the damage in the Constructors’ battle.

However, both drivers acknowledged that McLaren currently appears to have the stronger package.

For Norris and McLaren, meanwhile, the challenge is to maintain the momentum generated by the recent upgrades without becoming distracted by the championship standings.

Norris’ message was clear: one race at a time, keep developing and keep pushing.

With two consecutive victories now secured, McLaren heads into the next phase of the 2026 season with renewed confidence, while Mercedes prepares to fight back with its next upgrade package.