Dutch Grand Prix Results 2026 -- Double Podium Finish for Mercedes-Benz

 

Double Podium in Dramatic Final Dutch Grand Prix

• Kimi Antonelli finished second with George Russell third in Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix. 
• In a dramatic 72 lap race, Kimi and George defended well throughout but ultimately didn’t have the pace in the car to fight for victory.
• Nevertheless, they both maintained good track position throughout the afternoon, following an opening lap red flag; Kimi leading for most of the race and George holding P3. 
• The team opted to stop both drivers before they could be undercut by rivals behind at their first two stops, switching to the Hard compound both times after starting on the Medium tire.
• Kimi had to relinquish the lead when the hard-charging McLaren of Lando Norris came past on fresher tires on lap 54, before taking advantage of a Virtual Safety Car on lap 56 to switch to the Soft compound.
• That gave the team the best possible chance of protecting P2 from the Ferraris, behind who were showing strong pace, whilst maximizing our points scoring.
• So it proved, as George ceded position back to Kimi and then put together a stellar defense in the closing stages to secure P3 and a double podium by keeping the Ferraris at bay.
• That is the team’s fourth double podium of the season, and first since the Austrian Grand Prix in June.
• It also helps extend the team’s advantage in the Constructors’ Championship to 87 points. 

Kimi Antonelli

I am disappointed to have led so many laps today and not won. Unfortunately, the pace wasn’t quite there, and that’s a shame. P2 was ultimately the maximum we could have done, though, given that, so we must be happy coming away with that and a double podium secured. It is a great result for the team with George doing a brilliant job to keep the Ferraris behind and take P3.

We made two good starts and gained places at both. That gave us belief we could fight for victory, but I didn’t have the feeling with the car on the second set of Hard tyres and that was when Lando (Norris) was able to get past. I was a little nervous in the closing stages after we pitted under the Virtual Safety Car, but it turned out well. We were able to have both cars finish ahead of the Ferraris and extend our lead in the Constructors’ Championship, which is a good feeling leaving Zandvoort. 
 
George Russell

We did our best today, and it was clear that we were going to have a tough time of it defending from Lando (Norris) and the Ferraris, who were incredibly fast. The field is even more competitive than at any point during the season; that said, the pace of both McLaren and Ferrari has surprised us. To come away with a Sprint victory and a P3 is a solid return, therefore, on what has been a challenging weekend from a pace perspective. 

My race wasn’t the smoothest. I lost a couple of positions early on, but was able to fight my way back to P3. That became P2 when Kimi pitted under the Virtual Safety Car, but ultimately, Kimi was ahead of me before that, so the position was his. It was clear that we couldn’t cost ourselves any time fighting, as we needed to protect from the Ferraris behind, too. If we had, we would have likely lost a lot of time, and I would have lost the podium. In the end, we were able to maximise the result for the team, and that’s positive.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

We ultimately didn’t have the pace to fight for victory today. Finishing second and third was very much damage limitation therefore, but both the drivers and the team did a good job to maximize our result. 

We were able to gain track position early on, but it became clear that it would be a tall order to hold onto that, given the pace of our rivals. Once Norris had passed Kimi, we knew our race was about finishing ahead of the Ferraris. The Virtual Safety Car gave Kimi the chance to stop and protect from them behind, using fresher tires and on the Soft compound rather than the Hard. We were then able to invert the cars on track, and George then did a brilliant job to keep both Lewis (Hamilton) and Charles (Leclerc) behind. We were able to avoid losing time fighting together and have discussed similar situations like this all year. If it had been the other way around, we would have made the same decision. 

We leave Zandvoort knowing that we need to improve the pace of the car. We have further developments to come, but over the past two weekends, we haven’t had the fastest car. It is a tight championship fight, but we are happy to leave here having extended our advantage in the Constructors.  

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

That was a busy afternoon, where we weren't quick enough to fight for victory, but raced well to maximize our points scoring. The drivers did a good job of getting the absolute most out of what we had, and a double podium with P2 and P3 is a solid result. 

The conditions at the start were tricky, but the track was too dry to go for anything other than a slick tire. George struggled for grip on the dirty side of the grid, which allowed Kimi to get ahead before the race was red flagged. On the restart, Kimi made another strong start, held the inside line and took the lead from Norris. He was able to build enough of a lead to protect from Norris undercutting him, but it was clear the McLaren had superior pace, and we would need to box ahead of him to protect the position.

George was able to take P3 from Piastri at his first stop but faced a similar situation with the faster Ferraris behind. After our second stops, both drivers were looking to hold off the cars behind, but Norris ultimately made his way past Kimi before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed. That ultimately worked well for Kimi, as once both Ferraris stopped, we were able to get him onto the Soft tire and back out ahead of them, although he gave up track position to George. Once Kimi caught up, we decided to invert the cars, as Kimi had the pace to get through, but had they raced, it would have put both drivers at greater risk to the Ferraris. 

George did an amazing job to defend on those final laps. It was a very difficult situation to handle, but ultimately staying out gave George his only shot at making the podium. He did brilliantly to achieve that and secure the strongest result for the team we could have got today. Whilst it's been a difficult weekend, we still managed our second highest point score of the season to date and have extended the lead in both championships.