ROUND 12 | NETHERLANDS

"A valuable reward for everyone's efforts"

GRAND PRIX REACTION
Zandvoort Saturday header portrait

In the final Dutch Grand Prix, Fernando claimed a top-ten finish by the seaside. 

Read on for all the team's thoughts and reaction from the Netherlands.

  • Rain hit the track ahead of Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix, but Circuit Zandvoort had started to dry out ahead of the race start, where both drivers began on the Soft compound – Fernando from P18 and Lance in P19.

  • At the end of the first lap, a Red Flag put a pause to running. The session resumed with a standing start, and by Lap 10, Fernando and Lance had climbed to P14 and P15.

  • Lance picked up some damage early into the race, resulting in a handling issue. He made two pitstops, both for Hards; the first came at the end of Lap 15 and the second on Lap 36. Unfortunately, Lance had to retire nine laps later due to the issue.

  • After 30 laps on his Softs, Fernando made his first pit for Hards. He continued to gain positions and made his way into the points, successfully defending to secure P9 and two valuable points.

  • Next up, we're making our way to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix on 4-6 September. 

THE LATEST FROM THE TRACK

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
  • Position

    12TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:14.511 (SOFT)

  • Laps

    25

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    320.1

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
  • Postion

    18TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:15.199 (SOFT)

  • Laps

    24

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    317.0

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
Things seemed to go okay for us in Free Practice, but then we experienced some driveability issues in Sprint Qualifying.

"Things seemed to go okay for us in Free Practice, but then we experienced some driveability issues in Sprint Qualifying, and it was difficult to stop the car sometimes.

"The rear wing didn't open for us either, so we lost lap time with that. It's very early days with Honda's upgrade package, so we'll try to understand more in the Sprint."

  • Q1

    1:16.014 – 22ND (MEDIUM)

  • Laps

    5

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    287.6

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
We'll go through everything tonight, look at the data, and try to make some improvements for tomorrow.

"I think there was more there today. We were struggling with the driveability, and there were a few other things that weren't quite right, so we need to understand why. It's really windy out there, but it's the same for everyone.

"We'll go through everything tonight, look at the data, and try to make some improvements for tomorrow."

  • Q1

    1:15.391 - 19TH (MEDIUM)

  • Laps

    5

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    308.2

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
  • Position

    18TH

  • Started

    22ND

  • Fastest lap

    1:17.449 (LAP 4)

  • Tyres

    Medium

  • Laps

    24

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    341.0

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
  • Postion

    17TH

  • Started

    18TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:17.713 (LAP 8)

  • Tyres

    Medium

  • Laps

    24

  • Max. speed (KM/H)

    337.8

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
We were very close to getting into Q2 and more or less maximised what we had.

"We were very close to getting into Q2 and more or less maximised what we had. We have work to do to improve the driveability of the car and to recover more lap time moving forward.

"All in all, I think we have to be happy to be 1.3 seconds from the leader in Q1, when just a few races ago we were on average four seconds adrift of the top teams.

"Let's see what we can do tomorrow and enjoy our last race here in Zandvoort."

  • Q1

    1:13.650 – 18TH (SOFT)

  • Laps

    10

  • Max. speed (km/h)

    307.1

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
We're making progress, we're working hard, and we'll keep pushing to make another step forward.

"We've struggled with similar issues today as we did yesterday. There are improvements we need to make with the driveability and balance of the car, and that's where our focus needs to be.

"Our race pace seems to be better than our Qualifying pace. In Qualifying, we need to be able to push more to really attack the lap.

"But we're making progress, we're working hard, and we'll keep pushing to make another step forward."

  • Q1

    1:13.818 – 19TH (SOFT)

  • Laps

    10

  • Max. speed (km/h)

    309.5

Adrian Newey
AdrianNewey
Both drivers are reporting significant steps forward with the chassis and aero performance.

"Despite the limited practice running of a Sprint event, the weekend so far has given us valuable track time to better understand the characteristics of our recent upgrades and the updated power unit.

"Both drivers are reporting significant steps forward with the chassis and aero performance.

"The key takeaway is that we need to improve the drivability, and doing so will help us find more performance.

"Our pace is much improved compared to a couple of races ago – but we know there's more potential to unlock from this package."

Fernando Alonso
14
FernandoAlonso
It's great to finish in the points here in Zandvoort.

"It's great to finish in the points here in Zandvoort. I wasn't expecting it, so it's a credit to the team for maximising everything we had.

"We still have some driveability issues, but this weekend is another step forward.

"We'll take this momentum and keep pushing to get the most out of the car."

  • Position

    9th

  • Started

    18th

  • Fastest lap

    1:16.946 (Lap 59) (HARD)

  • Pitstops

    1

  • Tyres

    Soft-Hard

  • Laps

    71

  • Max. speed (km/h)

    335.0

Lance Stroll
18
LanceStroll
We picked up some damage early on which compromised the performance of the car.

"We picked up some damage early on which compromised the performance of the car. We had no pace and were sliding around a lot, so we stopped early for the Hard tyre, but unfortunately nothing helped.

"There's still a lot of work to do to improve the driveability of the car."

  • Position

    DNF

  • Started

    19TH

  • Fastest lap

    1:17.883 (Lap 37) (HARD)

  • Pitstops

    2

  • Tyres

    Soft-Hard-Hard

  • Laps

    45

  • Max. speed (km/h)

    329.6

Adrian Newey
AdrianNewey
The points scored today are a valuable reward for everyone's efforts.

"After the Red Flag, we fitted Fernando with a fresh set of Softs, and with good management, he was able to run almost half the race on those tyres.

"That set up an effective one-stop race, which we felt was our best chance of finishing in the points.

"It was only in the final few laps that Fernando came under pressure from Gasly, but we had the pace to hold on for P9 and two important points.

"Lance was suffering with a handling issue – which we suspect could have been caused by picking up some car damage – and we had to retire the car.

"The points scored today are a valuable reward for everyone's efforts, and I would like to say thank you to the whole team at Silverstone, who have worked so hard to improve our performance in recent months."

Ready to meet the challenge

Zandvoort kicks off the second half of the 2026 season, providing a refreshing blast of salty air for anyone still sleepy after their summer shutdown. With the wind whistling-in off the North Sea onto the dunes of North Holland, the sinuous circuit has delivered better races across its five-year residency that most people honestly expected: the new, banked sections have done their job, and Tarzan corner has been every bit as dramatic as it was in the golden age of F1.

For us, it's been a strong track in the past, and the team's upgrade package, delivered just before the summer break in Hungary, provided a genuine performance leap and a signpost to better second half of the season. The challenge now is to learn from that, consolidate and push-on over the next few races. Doing so at Zandvoort will be a tough ask, given the Sprint weekend format is back with us here, reducing practice to just a single hour.

We also have the F1 ACADEMY back in action for the first time since the British Grand Prix. Mathilda Paatz had an unlucky weekend at Silverstone but will be hoping to get back to winning ways at will be her home race this season.

RACE STARTS IN:

00days
00hrs
00mins
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Official Timing Partner
Session Times
FP1
SQ
SPR
Quali
Race
Track map
  • Sectors
  • Turns
  • Straight Mode
  • Overtake Mode
The banking at the end of the circuit is very special. The change of elevation is unbelievable and provides possibilities to overtake.
Mari Boya – Driver Academy member
  • Number of corners
    14
  • Number of laps
    72
  • Race distance
    306.587km
Mathilda Paatz

In Michael Schumacher's wheel tracks

As she turns 18, Mathilda reflects on the journey that took her from karting at Michael Schumacher's circuit in Kerpen and spending nights supporting her father at the Nürburgring to becoming an F1 ACADEMY race winner – and explains why 'The Green Hell' will always be 'The Green Heaven' to her.

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