Norris wins Dutch GP as Antonelli stretches his F1 lead

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands, Aug 23 : Lando Norris gave McLaren a third successive Dutch Grand Prix victory on Sunday in an intense race of shifting fortunes that had to be restarted after home hero Max Verstappen crashed on the opening lap.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli finished second to increase his championship lead, with teammate George Russell obeying orders to let the Italian - on fresher tyres - through late in the race and then holding off Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton for third.

The win was a second in a row for reigning world champion Norris, who started on pole position but had to fight back after losing the lead to Antonelli at the restart, following victory in Hungary last month.

He is now fourth overall, 83 points adrift of Antonelli, and still hopeful of closing the gap.

"Let's keep bringing upgrades. Let's keep bringing performance. The fight is still on. Let's keep going," said Norris, who won at Zandvoort in 2024 before teammate Oscar Piastri triumphed last year, still the Australian's most recent win.

FINAL LAP IN F1 FOR ZANDVOORT CIRCUIT

Every F1 race at Zandvoort since the circuit returned to the calendar in 2021 after a 36-year absence has been won from pole, and Sunday's will keep it that way as the last for the foreseeable future.

Antonelli stretched his lead to 59 points over Russell and Hamilton, now tied on 183 each to the 19-year-old Italian's 242, after 12 rounds.

"With the new tyres, he would have overtaken anyway so it was the right decision," said Russell, who won Saturday's sprint but lost out to Antonelli at the first start on Sunday, of the team orders.

"Just happy to be standing on the podium. It's been a little while for me and a strong weekend overall."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished fifth with Piastri