Norris Wins at Zandvoort, But the Weekend Belongs to Mercedes
Mercedes won the sprint with Russell, led much of the feature race with Antonelli, and played calm team tactics late on for a double podium – leaving Ferrari far from the spotlight in front of their own fans.
On paper, the winner of the Dutch Grand Prix is Lando Norris. In reality, though, the strongest impression from this year’s Zandvoort race was left by Mercedes. The Brackley team won the sprint with George Russell, led with Kimi Antonelli for much of the race distance, and executed calm team tactics late on that secured maximum points and a double podium for the silver cars – while Ferrari stayed far from the spotlight in front of their own fan section.
McLaren went home with Sunday’s trophy, but Mercedes left the track with something more important for the long-term title fight – control of the season’s momentum and an 87-point lead in the constructors’ championship.
Zandvoort once again proved it doesn’t forgive even the smallest hesitation – a lesson Max Verstappen learned the hard way on the very first lap of the race.
