Norris wins Dutch GP as Hamilton fumes at Ferrari strategy
Lando Norris won the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on 23 August, finishing ahead of Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, while Lewis Hamilton took fourth and then aimed his frustration squarely at Ferrari's strategy team.
Antonelli crossed the line 11.536 seconds behind the McLaren driver, with Russell a further 4.370s back in third. Hamilton finished 16.755s adrift of Norris, and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc took fifth, 17.258s off the winner. Oscar Piastri came home sixth. Max Verstappen, the home crowd's favourite at the Zandvoort circuit, crashed out of the race (Formula 1).
Hamilton believed he could have challenged for a podium. His argument: he was on a different tyre strategy to Leclerc and was demonstrably quicker, but Ferrari took too long to move the Monégasque aside. When the team finally pitted Leclerc, Hamilton's radio message was withering: "Great way of wasting time, good job" (The Guardian).
The seven-time champion contrasted Ferrari's delay with a decision Mercedes made further up the road. In the closing laps, George Russell was told to let Antonelli through, and he did so immediately. Hamilton pointed out that Mercedes executed the swap on the spot while he sat behind Leclerc losing seconds he believed would have made the difference at the finish (The Guardian).
Russell, for his part, had no complaints. He said the team order was the right call because Antonelli was ahead on pace and would have passed him anyway with fresmer rubber. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff called it a straightforward decision, consistent with the team's pre-agreed approach (The Guardian).
Hamilton told Ferrari they must raise their game if he is to stay in the championship fight. The gap is already daunting: Antonelli's second place extended his championship lead, with both Russell and Hamilton now 59 points behind the Italian (The Guardian).
It is not the first time Hamilton has publicly questioned Ferrari's pit-wall decisions this season. At July's Hungarian Grand Prix, he criticised a late pitstop call that cost him a likely podium (Reuters). After Zandvoort he said he had given "absolutely everything" on track but was frustrated by some of the team's calls, and pointed to a run of recent races hampered by penalties as well (Formula 1).
The weekend had started more promisingly. Hamilton praised Ferrari's car improvements as "unbelievable" after qualifying, saying the setup changes made over the weekend had left him much happier with the balance (Formula 1). He and Leclerc had held differing views on those setup directions, and during Friday practice Hamilton could only manage seventh while Leclerc set what was reportedly the fastest lap of the 2026 season so far (Motorsport.com).
What makes this stand out is the contrast in how two top teams handled the same basic problem. Both Mercedes and Ferrari had a faster driver stuck behind a slower teammate. Mercedes made the call without hesitation. Ferrari hesitated, and their driver let them hear about it.
