FINAL FAREWELL OF CIRCUIT ZANDVOORT GRID | 2026

 

DUTCH GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING GAPS 🔥

 

ISACK HADJAR COULD MISS DUTCH GP WITH LIAM LAWSON IN LINE FOR SHOCK RED BULL F1 RETURN

Isack Hadjar will reportedly miss this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix due to injury.

Hadjar picked up a wrist injury over F1's summer break

Isack Hadjar has reportedly been ruled out of the Dutch Grand Prix because of injury, opening the door for a surprise Red Bull Formula 1 return for Liam Lawson. 

Dutch publication De Telegraaf claims Hadjar suffered a wrist injury during a gym session over F1’s summer break that is likely to result in him missing this weekend’s race at Zandvoort. The report notes that a final decision has not yet been made by Red Bull. 

Should Hadjar indeed be sidelined, Lawson has been tipped to replace him and complete a shock return to the Red Bull senior team alongside Max Verstappen for the weekend.

Lawson is set to return to Red Bull for one weekend

Lawson was brutally demoted from Red Bull back to sister team Racing Bulls just two races into the 2025 season, having been brought in to take Sergio Perez’s place over the winter. 

If Hadjar cannot participate, it would also provide Yuki Tsunoda with an unexpected F1 reprieve. The Japanese driver, who acts as Red Bull’s reserve driver, would fill in for Lawson at Racing Bulls at Zandvoort. 

Tsunoda, who stepped up to replace Lawson early in 2025, has been out of F1 since making way for Hadjar at the end of last season, having become the latest victim of Red Bull’s ruthless driver shuffles. 

Ironically, Zandvoort was where Lawson made his F1 debut when he was drafted as a last-minute substitute after Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand in a practice crash ahead of the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix. 

It was also the scene of Hajdar’s maiden F1 podium finish during an impressive rookie campaign that led to the Frenchman ultimately earning the top drive at Red Bull this year. 

Missing this weekend would give Hadjar two weeks to recover before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on 6 September. 

- Lewis Larkam

FORMULA 1 STANDINGS HEADING TO ZANDVOORT 🔥

 

WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME F1 SAID GOODBYE TO ZANDVOORT IN 1985?

Photo: Race Pictures

Formula 1 is preparing to bid farewell to Zandvoort, with the final Dutch Grand Prix set to take place this weekend. But what happened the last time the Dutch circuit hosted what was supposed to be its final F1 race? Back in 1985, Zandvoort staged a memorable Grand Prix before disappearing from the calendar for 36 years.

Few may remember that more than 40 years ago in the Netherlands, Niki Lauda claimed what would prove to be the 25th and final victory of his Formula 1 career, before retiring from the sport for good at the age of 36 at the end of the season.

The 1985 Dutch Grand Prix took place on 25 August as the 11th round of the season, just one week after reigning world champion Niki Lauda had announced that he would retire from Formula 1 for good at the end of the year.

Nelson Piquet started from pole position for Brabham-BMW after setting a 1:11.074, while Lauda faced a much tougher task from 10th on the grid in his McLaren. The Austrian gradually worked his way through the field, with his race strategy eventually helping him move ahead of teammate Alain Prost and into the lead.

Photo: Race Pictures

What followed was a tense battle between the two McLaren drivers in the closing stages. Prost had the stronger pace and underlined it by setting the fastest lap of the race on Lap 57, but could not find a way past his teammate. Lauda held on all the way to the chequered flag, beating Prost by just two tenths of a second in one of the closest finishes in Formula 1 history.

Five races later, Lauda brought his Formula 1 career to an end at the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide. Zandvoort, meanwhile, was also saying goodbye to the championship, although for very different reasons. Financial difficulties and ageing facilities ultimately made it impossible for the Dutch Grand Prix to retain its place on the calendar, despite Bernie Ecclestone reportedly attempting to help keep the event alive.

F1 summer break almost over: Full schedule for Dutch GP's final farewell

With the summer break now drawing to a close, Formula 1 is preparing to return to action at Zandvoort for the final Dutch Grand Prix. The weekend will feature the Sprint format, meaning drivers and teams will have limited time to prepare before the first competitive session. Friday's action will begin with the only free practice session at 12:30 local time (11:30 UK time), before Sprint Qualifying gets underway later in the afternoon at 16:30 (15:30 UK).

The Sprint will then kick off Saturday's programme at 12:00 local time (11:00 UK time), with qualifying for the Grand Prix following at 16:00 (15:00 UK). Attention will then turn to Sunday's main event, as Zandvoort hosts its final Formula 1 race. The Dutch Grand Prix is scheduled to begin at 15:00 local time, corresponding to 14:00 in the UK.

- Tobia Elia

STAR DJ HEADLINES FINAL SOLD OUT DUTCH GP PARTY TO GIVE ZANDVOORTTHE FAREWELL IT DESERVES

Photo: Race Pictures

The final Dutch Grand Prix will also be celebrated with a big party at Zandvoort. The event will be headlined by the famous DJ Martin Garrix.

After the upcoming season, Formula 1 will say goodbye to Zandvoort and the Netherlands for the foreseeable future. To cap off the final event, Martin Garrix will headline the closing concert. The goal is to give the race the special farewell it deserves.

For Zandvoort's farewell, Saturday and Sunday had already sold out by April, with only the final tickets for Super Friday remaining, the organisers previously revealed.

Home favourite Max Verstappen previously addressed Zandvoort no longer being on the F1 calendar starting 2027. "Okay, we won’t have a Formula 1 Grand Prix there, but there are a lot of other series that still race there, and if you want to have a track day, the track is not going to disappear. So, for me, I’ll still have my fun driving around there, just not in Formula 1, but that’s okay.

"I mean, I just want to enjoy it with the fans. It’s incredibly impressive what they have done to bring it back, and I think, at the time when they hosted the first one, it was a great example for a lot of other Grands Prix as well of how to host and entertain. So, yeah, it’s a shame, but on the other hand, the track’s still there and I’m sure I will do more laps around there. So, it is what it is."

Photo: Race Pictures

Sprint weekend in Zandvoort with potential rain

The first Grand Prix after the summer break will also be a Sprint weekend. After just a single free practice session, Sprint Qualifying will take place on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the Sprint and Qualifying will be held before the Grand Prix on Sunday.

In addition, there is a chance of rain at Zandvoort this weekend, with temperatures expected to be lower than usual for the summer. On Friday and Saturday, there is a 40-45% chance of rain. On Sunday, fans might see the sun come out in the Netherlands. However, temperatures are expected to reach only 20 degrees Celsius, with a 21% chance of rain on the final day of the weekend.

- Kada Sarkozi

FERNANDO ALONSO AND GEORGE RUSSELL UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER STRANGE NEAR-MISS

What action will the stewards take after yet another strange Zandvoort incident?

Fernando Alonso and George Russell have been placed under investigation following a strange incident in the closing minutes of final practice at Zandvoort. 

As final practice entered its final minutes ahead of qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix, Russell and Alonso suffered a near-miss at the pit entry. 

Alonso exited the final corner on a hot lap and appeared to attempt to receive a tow from Russell ahead, who remained on the racing line. 

However, as the Aston Martin driver almost drew alongside the Briton, Russell suddenly ventured across the circuit to try to enter the pit lane.

Unaware of Alonso behind, Russell suddenly took avoiding action and veered back to the left and remained on the circuit, whilst the two-time world champion found himself trapped and forced to enter the pit lane. 

He drove through the pit lane and immediately rejoined the circuit, quickly complaining that Russell failed to check his mirrors. 

The FIA stewards are investigating whether there was a breach of Article 37.5 and/or Article 33.4 of the sporting regulations, regarding Russell driving erratically at the pit entry.

- Nick Golding

DUTCH GP: LEWIS HAMILTON, GEORGE RUSSELL SURPRISED BY FERRARI PODIUM

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell of Mercedes. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands -- Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell said they were surprised by Ferrari's pace and Charles Leclerc's third-place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Leclerc started sixth before leapfrogging Sergio Pérez and Russell as McLaren's Lando Norris beat home favourite Max Verstappen by 22 seconds on Sunday.

Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz was knocked out in Q2 on Saturday, qualifying 11th, but finished the race in fifth, one tenth of a second behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Hamilton qualified 12th but was later demoted to 15th with a grid penalty for impeding Pérez during the session.

Hamilton, who will join Ferrari next year, said after Sunday's race: "I was definitely surprised when I drove through and saw a Ferrari was on P3.

"If I just qualified like I should've qualified, I think I had the pace today to easily be in the top five. I don't know if we were faster than the Ferrari's but there were elements of our pace which were strong. But the car was not great compared to the last race. We had a lot more pace at the last race. Today we were closer to others."

Russell was equally as surprised by Ferrari's pace, with the 26-year-old admitting he was expecting to be comfortably ahead of them after qualifying and vying for a podium.

"I probably would've finished one, maybe max two places higher but we had no pace, I was just dropping like a stone," Russell said. "[It was] especially a surprise versus Ferrari -- we were expecting to be comfortably ahead of them. Charles was quicker, Carlos catching me, clearly, we got something wrong I think with the tyres. After the first couple of laps, I thought we were on course for a probably podium. I knew the overtaking was going to be difficult.

"I was really shocked at how fast McLaren were; Lando just looked so comfortable out there and it was super impressive to see and we've had six really strong races and then suddenly we've finished almost a minute behind the win today. So you don't lose all of that performance overnight. Yesterday we qualified fourth and clearly didn't get something right today."

- Niamh Lewis

FORMULA 1 REMAINING RACES

 

FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN DUTCH GRAND PRIX 2023 | ZANDVOORT | PIT STOPS

 

DANIEL RICCIARDO OUT WITH BROKEN ARM | ALFATAURI | THE NETHERLANDS 🇳🇱 GRAND PRIX 2023

NETHERLANDS 🇳🇱 2023 | CIRCUIT ZANDVOORT