Norris won the Dutch Grand Prix from pole by 11.536 s over Antonelli, with Russell third. Pole to flag, but Norris did not lead most of it; Antonelli did. One decision in the second round of stops, and the six laps after it, won Norris the race.
Race trace, full race: every driver's position, lap by lap.
A race that started twice
Qualifying put the front two rows inside 0.142 s: Norris on pole in 1:11.163, then Russell, Antonelli and Piastri. The race started behind the Safety Car and from a standing start, and was red-flagged on lap 2. Our feed records the red flag but not its cause, so we leave that open. Verstappen did not complete a lap and was not in the resumption order. Our weather feed marked rain on and off, but no car ever fitted intermediates or wets. After the second standing start the race ran green to the flag apart from two Virtual Safety Cars, on laps 55 to 57 and on lap 70.
Antonelli's race to lose
Antonelli went past Norris at the restart and was ahead of him at the end of every lap from 5 to 39. The gap was never large: 1 to 2 s in the first stint, 0.7 to 1.7 s in the second. Both stopped on lap 21, so the first round of stops changed nothing between them. Norris spent 35 laps within two seconds of him without a way by.
The turning point: lap 40 against lap 47
Mercedes brought in Antonelli and Russell on the same lap, lap 40. Antonelli had been 0.7 s ahead of Norris the lap before. McLaren left Norris out on his hards for seven more laps and stopped him on lap 47. He rejoined 5.0 s behind Antonelli. Norris's race: medium, soft, hard, two stops.
It was not enough for Antonelli: his hards were now seven laps older. On laps 49 to 51 Norris lapped in 1:14.3 to 1:14.6 while Antonelli ran 1:15.8 to 1:15.9, between 1.2 and 1.5 s a lap slower. By lap 53 the gap was 0.2 s, and Norris took the place at the start of lap 54. Our data does not say why Mercedes stopped on lap 40, only what it cost.
The third stop that did not pay
When the first Virtual Safety Car came out on lap 55, Antonelli was 1.4 s behind Norris. Mercedes stopped him a third time, for softs. He came back out third, behind Russell, and 12.6 s behind Norris. On softs he caught and passed Russell for second, but he took only about a second out of Norris in the last 15 laps: the gap at the flag was 11.536 s. Russell, who ran from lap 40 to the flag on one set of hards, finished 15.906 s back. Hamilton, who stayed out on hards and led laps 48 to 53, stopped under the same VSC and finished fourth, ahead of Leclerc and Piastri.
Sprint: Russell's day
Saturday belonged to Russell. He took sprint pole by 0.041 s from Norris, with the top four inside 0.099 s, and led all 24 laps. The sprint ran without a Safety Car or VSC. Leclerc, the only front-runner on softs, passed Norris for second on lap 18 and finished 1.360 s behind Russell.
After Zandvoort Antonelli leads on 242 points, 59 clear of Russell and Hamilton, who are level on 183. Norris is fourth on 159.