It's easy to see why the first corner at Zandvoort is called "Tarzan" as you swing into the slightly banked 180-degree right-hander. I suspect the noises coming from Lando Norris would have been more akin to Fred Flintstone than Tarzan, as he flung around the outside of Kimi Antonelli to retake the lead of the Dutch Grand Prix and head off through the jungle to his second consecutive race win.

Overall, the Dutch grand prix followed the emerging formula for 2026, of being eventful without being particularly engaging. Saturday's sprint race was a somewhat processional affair, again raising debate as to whether this particular format deserves a long-term future in Grand Prix weekends. George Russell led throughout, managing a gap initially from Lando Norris before the Brit was passed by Charles Leclerc with six laps to go. The Zandvoort track - hosting its swansong event before dropping from the calendar in 2027 - is not typically known for having a high number of overtaking places nor generally providing dynamic racing. And Saturday's sprint, devoid of the strategic elements thrown into a full-length race by tyre wear and pit strategy was sadly an example of this.

There was hope that the coastal-weather may mix things up for the Sunday Grand Prix. And indeed, the track was damp from a rain shower as the cars formed the grid. Any chance of the intermediate tyres making an appearance though was quickly squashed as they were wheeled back into the garages and the wait continues for a full racing lap to be completed on intermediate or wet tyres in 2026 (only in Canada have they been used on-track - and each of the 5 drivers who ran them pitted at the end of the opening lap).

The track remained damp enough to be tricky though; and it bit back in spectacular fashion as both Max Verstappen and Gabi Bortoletto spun on the exit of the final corner of the first lap. Bortoletto performed a near perfect pirouette, somehow avoiding contact with either the walls and the remainder of the pack - although he had his teammates quick reactions to thank for avoiding what could have been a horrific accident. Not so lucky though for local boy Verstappen, who slammed first into the outer perimeter wall at speed before sliding back down the banking and coming to rest against the inner wall; the left-side of his car obliterated across the track and his unattached left-rear tyre rolling forlornly away down the pit straight.

Lando Norris had successfully led the pack away at the first start, with the Mercedes inverting positions behind him. However, Norris was unable to keep Antonelli behind him on the restart and, given the Italian's season to-date, it seemed reasonable to assume he would convert that to his seventh win of the season. Lando however, was able to show the same connection with his McLaren that he demonstrated before the summer break in Hungary and didn't let the Mercedes out of sight, closing down during the second stint. As Lando and Kimi closed in on Hamilton (who was briefly leading the race having yet to make his second stop), Norris was able 'Yabba-dabba-doo' past Antonelli, slotting in perfectly behind Hamilton and regaining the net-lead of the race.

Norris will be all-to-aware that the 83-point gap from him to World Championship leader Antonelli is not insurmountable and is considerably less than the 100+ point gap that Max Verstappen closed down on him last year. Arguably, that was helped by the double-disqualification of both McLaren drivers in Las Vegas, but still shows that nothing should be taken for granted, especially with 11 races remaining now that the "Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia" has been reinstated to the calendar. However, Antonelli seems to be continuing to show many championship-winning traits and will almost certainly continue to pick up big points every week, providing the Mercedes remains reliable.

Away from the front, George Russell was fortunate to keep his third-placed podium position, courtesy of a late VSC that likely saved him from being overtaken by the much faster Hamilton. A podium would have been the least that Hamilton could have expected given his pace for much of the race, but was held up behind teammate Charles Leclerc and a return to sleepy tactics from Ferrari. Leclerc finished ahead of Piastri and Lawson who both had rather anonymous races on their own.

Further back, Pierre Gasly never actually seemed far from a scrap, engaging in midfield tussles with both Racing Bulls and Nico Hulkenberg (who presumably used the red-flag stoppage to find a quiet corner and fresh fireproofs following his near-miss with Bortoletto).

And amongst the melees, arose the Master.

Fernando Alonso started 18th but nursed a set of soft tyres to an opening 34-lap stint, before running a set of hard tyres 38 laps to the finish. The was the only driver to attempt a 1-stop strategy and his reward was a seasons-best 9th place finish and two points. Crucial not just for the team's position in the standings, but also as Alonso weighs up his desire and competitiveness as he debates staying beyond this, his 23rd season in Formula 1.

Antonelli then extends his lead at the top of the Championship to 59 points, but George Russell jumps up to 2nd overall - level on points with Lewis Hamilton but above on virtue of having two race wins to Lewis' one. McLaren's recent form now has them 3rd in the Constructor's table above Red Bull, but still 75 points short of Ferrari and a further 87 points behind Mercedes.

Next up is Monza, where the Italian crowd will be expecting some degree of home success, and for the first time in a long time with reasonable cause. Let's just hope the racing is as exciting as the celebrations, if they get their wish.

There was a bit of shuffling about with tyre wear and different energy deployment strategies but it was clear that the Mercedes were the fastest overall at the front, with Verstappen gamely hanging on behind ahead of McLaren and the sole remaining Ferrari of Hamilton. The order looked fairly nailed-down with Antonelli chasing Russell until a virtual safety car period resulted in Antonelli gambling on a second pit stop for fresh tyres making him the hare to Russell’s tortoise. He duly caught back up to his team mate and started putting him under pressure. A few laps before the end it looked like he might have blown it with an off-track excursion at the first chicane but the advantage of the fresher tyres remained and the Italian eventually passed into the lead much to the delight of the partisan crowd.

At the checquered flag it was the delighted Italian who took a home victory ahead of the dejected Russell who tried to take the positives from the event when interviewed but was clearly pretty despondent having been soundly out-raced by his team mate who essentially won by a net 20 seconds including the extra stop having started right at the back. Verstappen came home third ahead of the battling McLarens, Norris passing Piastri on the last lap for 4th. Next up was Hamilton in a disappointing 6th ahead of pole sitter Gasly who got about as much as could have been expected out of his Alpine. Rounding out the top ten were Lindblad, Colapinto and Tsunoda.

With the gap at the front now 66 points Antonelli looks pretty nailed-down for the title although I suspect that a number of the upcoming tracks will suit the Ferrari and the McLaren (particularly Singapore with lots of low-speed corners and point and squirt straights and Sepang with lots of long corners similar to Barcelona) so we’re likely to get a bit of ebb and flow as things continue to play out at the front. Next time out in just a few days’ time it’s the first event at the new Madring circuit in Madrid which looks very prone to producing a bit of upset with it’s unforgiving barriers and slippery surface, so here’s hoping it produces another interesting race to spice up the order a bit!