Formula One returned from its summer break and assembled in Zandvoort, on the North Sea coast, for Round 12 of the 2026 World Championship for what would be the final Dutch Grand Prix for the foreseeable future. Zandvoort first hosted a World Championship race in 1952 and is, coincidentally, the circuit where Aston Martin made its Formula One World Championship debut in 1959, when Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby raced the DBR4. After disappearing from the calendar for 36 years, it returned in 2021, its revival driven largely by the enormous Dutch interest generated by Max Verstappen's Championship successes. However, operating without significant financial support, the organisers elected not to extend their contract beyond 2026 and the venue will disappear from the 2027 calendar.
The 4.259km high-downforce circuit, nestled among the coastal sand dunes, with no lengthy straights, is the shortest permanent track and one of its most distinctive. Its narrow, undulating layout contains 14 corners, including the heavily banked Turn 3 at 19 degrees and the final Turn 14 at 18 degrees, while the exposed coastal location means changing winds and sand blown across the circuit can alter grip levels. This race weekend featured a Sprint race for the first time at this track, meaning teams would have just one Free Practice session before heading into Sprint Qualifying - placing greater emphasis on finding the correct setup from the get-go.
For Aston Martin, after the encouraging signs from the extensively revised AMR26 introduced in Hungary, the team were bringing the second major element of its planned recovery to Zandvoort – Honda’s upgraded Spec 2 power unit, incorporating changes aimed at improving efficiency, reliability and performance. This was achieved by changing the pre-chamber to make combustion faster and modifying the piston shape to optimise combustion. They also altered the lubrication system, to reduce friction. As a result, Honda claimed that the introduction of the significant power unit upgrade met all of its targets and was an “important milestone” for the manufacturer. Reports prior to the race had suggested gains of as much as 50bhp translating into lap time improvements approaching half a second, although Honda itself had been more cautious about quantifying the improvement. Additionally, further revisions to the floor of the chassis, the front wing and the diffuser were all brought to Zandvoort. Consequently, this race would be the first opportunity to assess the substantially revised chassis together with the upgraded Honda power unit and reveal whether Aston Martin were truly on course for a much improved second-half of the season.
Free Practice
Friday morning began in damp and blustery conditions after earlier rain had left the Zandvoort circuit wet in places. With the schedule operating in Sprint race weekend mode, this session would be Aston Martin's sole opportunity to assess the AMR26 with Honda's upgraded Spec 2 power unit before competitive running later that afternoon. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll initially ventured out on intermediate tyres, but both quickly returned to the pits having concluded that the circuit was already sufficiently dry for slicks. Piastri soon validated that by going fastest on medium compound slick tyres, some 5 seconds quicker than Hamilton on intermediates. Alonso returned to the track on medium tyres and placed the Aston Martin in 7th before slipping to P12 as more drivers switched to slick tyres as well and set representative times. Stroll followed him out and initially got caught in traffic while trying to go flat out and could only manage 18th but he gradually improved and slotted into P13. At the halfway point Alonso was P13 and Stroll P15, with both still running on the medium compound tyres as the team continued gathering as much data as possible from the substantially revised package. With quarter of an hour remaining they occupied P13 and P16 respectively before switching to soft tyres to attempt their only qualifying simulations. Stroll initially improved to P13 and then Alonso produced a considerably quicker lap to jump as high as P7 with just over 6 minutes remaining. Several other drivers were also setting faster times on their new soft tyres and as the final laps were recorded Alonso slipped down the order. When the chequered flag fell Alonso finished in P12, 1.562 seconds behind Antonelli's session-leading time, while Stroll was approximately seven-tenths further adrift, in P18. Together, they set a total of 49 laps during the session and a quick analysis showed it was not the half-second leap forward that was being predicted from the upgraded Honda power unit, but with changeable track conditions, different tyre programmes and only a single hour of practice, it was too early to draw meaningful conclusions.
Sprint Qualifying
Conditions became increasingly difficult by the time Sprint Qualifying began. Strong winds were sweeping across the exposed circuit and blowing sand from the surrounding dunes onto the track, making grip levels unpredictable as Stroll headed out of the pit lane followed by Alonso for the all important first round of Qualifying. Stroll's opening effort was untidy and only good enough for P17, while Alonso's first attempt unravelled immediately. He suffered a huge lock-up under braking for the first turn and ran through the gravel, badly flat-spotting a front tyre in the process. He managed to continue but was forced to limp around the circuit on the damaged tyre and was unable to produce a competitive lap and recorded lap times that kept him towards the back of the grid. Both drivers were complaining about the driveability of the AMR26, with the wind making it exceptionally unstable and not giving them the confidence to get the most out of the car. As a result, neither driver recovered sufficiently to progress. Stroll looked increasingly ragged and uncomfortable with the car and could only manage P19, while Alonso's Turn 1 excursion and badly flat-spotted tyre left him P22 and last. It subsequently emerged that the rear wing on Alonso's AMR26 was failing to deploy on the straights, depriving him of straight-line speed at precisely the circuit where Aston Martin was hoping to begin evaluating the advantages of Honda's upgraded power unit. Both Aston Martins were therefore eliminated at the first hurdle, bringing their competitive Friday running to a disappointingly early conclusion. Leclerc topped SQ1, ahead of Norris and Piastri.
With Aston Martin eliminated, attention turned to the battle at the front - Piastri narrowly headed Norris in SQ2, with Leclerc in P3. As had become customary in the short final Sprint Qualifying session, nobody appeared particularly eager to head out. Then, with only 4 minutes remaining the cars finally emerged for what became a single-lap shootout in the time remaining. Russell was the one that made his opportunity count, taking Sprint pole ahead of Norris and Leclerc – Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari occupying the first three positions. For Aston Martin, the Friday morning session had provided some tentative encouragement, but Sprint Qualifying was compromised by driver error, difficult conditions causing driveability and confidence issues, and in Alonso's case, a technical problem. The team set about analysing the data accumulated and would use it to inform decisions for Saturday's sessions.
Sprint Race
The strong wind continued into Saturday morning as the Aston Martin drivers hit the track and the action began for the 24-lap Sprint race. At the front, Russell maintained his lead from Norris when the red lights went out. Stroll set off from P18 and held position and Alonso started from the pitlane, after the team made setup changes to his car following the problems encountered during Sprint Qualifying – both cars fitted with medium compound tyres. Alonso emerged in P21 after Pérez's Cadillac developed a fault during the formation lap and had to be wheeled into the pits. On the second lap Hülkenberg developed an issue with his Audi and dropped four places, elevating Stroll to P17 and the Canadian immediately began applying pressure on Albon ahead. Alonso also made progress up the order - he passed Sainz and the struggling Hülkenberg to climb up to P19 and then began closing rapidly on Bottas. By lap 5 both Aston Martins were less than a second behind the cars immediately ahead of them – Stroll chasing Albon and Alonso hassling Bottas. For several laps neither could find a way through around the narrow Zandvoort circuit, but on lap 10 Alonso finally managed to pass Bottas and made the move stick. At the half distance stage, Stroll was still 17th with Alonso directly behind him, with the Spaniard gradually reducing the gap to his teammate. By lap 15 Alonso was within a second of Stroll, who in turn remained within DRS range of Albon, leaving the two Aston Martins running nose-to-tail behind the Williams. That is how it continued until the end of the race. Stroll just seemed stuck behind Albon and couldn’t find the space or opportunity to pass and progress. Alonso appeared to suffer either a lock-up or brief lapse in concentration on lap 22, as he dropped more than a second behind Stroll, although he quickly recovered the lost ground. At the front Leclerc produced a highly skilful move on Norris to take second place, but Russell remained beyond reach and converted Sprint pole into victory. Stroll crossed the line P17 with Alonso in P18. Moments after the chequered flag the heavens opened and a heavy shower swept across the Zandvoort circuit – fortunately sufficiently late as to not influence the Sprint result. Although there were no points for Aston Martin, there was at least some encouragement from the race pace and that Alonso managed some overtakes.
Qualifying
A few hours later and with the shower having passed attention turned to Qualifying for Sunday's final Dutch Grand Prix. Alonso and Stroll headed onto a busy circuit early in Q1 and immediately produced encouraging opening laps, temporarily placing themselves 3rd & 4th respectively. As the cars from the top teams completed their initial runs the Aston Martin duo inevitably slipped down the order and with 10 minutes remaining Alonso was down to P10 and Stroll P14. Alonso had also lapped faster than both Williams’, while Stroll's opening effort was already three-tenths quicker than his best time from Sprint Qualifying the previous afternoon. Both returned to the circuit for a second attempt, with Aston Martin seemingly intent on squeezing in 3 runs to give its drivers every possible chance of reaching Q2. Alonso improved his time but slipped to P12 as others went quicker. Stroll initially went P17, only for his lap time to be deleted for exceeding track limits, which dropped him to P21 and left his Qualifying in considerable jeopardy. With 5 minutes remaining both Aston Martins headed out for their final attempts on fresh soft tyres. Stroll responded when it mattered, briefly hauling himself up to P13 during the frantic final minutes. Alonso also began what needed to be his decisive lap, but a poor second sector left him unable to improve and he abandoned the attempt, returning to the pits. As the remaining cars crossed the line, both Aston Martins tumbled back into elimination positions. Alonso finished P18 and Stroll P19, bringing another frustrating Q1 exit despite the AMR26 appearing more competitive than the final grid positions suggested. Alonso had been only around a second slower than Piastri's fastest Q1 time, illustrating how compressed the field had become and how costly even a small mistake could be. At the front Piastri headed Hamilton and Norris in that Q1 round, before Norris narrowly outpaced Piastri by just three-one thousandths of a second in Q2, with Verstappen 3rd.
As the green light at the end of the pit lane signalled the start of Q3 the remaining teams faced a conundrum, as rain was now approaching and would arrive within 5 minutes, they had to decide quickly whether to send their cars out immediately or wait until a few cars had been out on track and for it to evolve. Most teams decided to go out and get at least one decent lap ‘in the bank’. As the umbrellas started to be raised in the grandstands and spectators donned their ponchos when the first drops arrived the cars rolled onto and round the track quickly and proceeded to set their decisive final Q3 lap times. Norris ultimately made the most of the conditions and secured pole position ahead of Russell and Antonelli. It meant two British drivers would again share the front row on Sunday, although in the reverse order from the Sprint. There was some frustration at Aston Martin because, unlike the team's Q1 eliminations earlier in the season, progressing to Q2 this time appeared entirely realistic. The reality was though, they would have to start the Grand Prix from P18 and P19, leaving plenty of work to do on Sunday.
Race
Heavy rain had swept across Zandvoort in the build-up to the start of the 72-lap race, leaving patches of damp around the circuit. However, the high track temperature rapidly dried the surface and by the time the formation lap began conditions were sufficiently improved for the race to commence from a standing start. Norris led the field away when the lights went out, as Russell made a poor start behind him and lost a place. But, just as the opening lap had barely finished Dutch hearts were broken when Verstappen drove too close to the white painted kerb which was still damp, lost the rear of the Red Bull and it cannoned across the track, crashing heavily into the wall and bounced back across the track again, with various chassis and car body parts distributing debris across the start-finish straight. Immediately the race was red flagged, but not before Bortoleto had also completed a 360-degree spin at the same spot as Verstappen’s crash and was fortunate not to have been taken out by Hülkenberg. The cars filed into the pit lane and lined up in the order that they were in at the time the red flags were deployed while the marshals cleared away the Red Bull and the wreckage from it. During the chaotic opening lap Alonso had gained a couple of places and Stroll had also made progress.
There was a lengthy delay before the restart, during which the Stewards determined the new starting order, taking into account any cars that may have reaped places at the start of the 2nd lap, which was the moment that the race was stopped, and also investigated Lindblad and Colapinto for overtaking under double yellow flags conditions. When the revised order was established, Alonso would restart from P13 and Stroll P16. Eventually the formation lap for the restart got underway, during which Bearman stopped on track, requiring the cars to go round again for a second formation lap, while the Haas was recovered, and only then were the rest of the cars able to line up in their grid slots. At the restart, Antonelli had a much better launch than Norris and took the lead, while Piastri pulled off an impressive move on Russell. The Aston Martins initially struggled to hold their positions. Ocon passed Alonso on lap 6 and the fast-charging Bortoleto passed Alonso on lap 7, dropping him to P15, just ahead of Stroll. The Stewards then announced that Colapinto and Lindblad would have to serve Drive through Penalties for their infringements. This played to the advantage of the Aston Martins and, by lap 9, Alonso was back to P14, with Stroll P15, and when Bortoleto pitted 3 laps later the Aston Martins gained another position each. Alonso then settled into a particularly strong opening stint on the soft tyres. He closed to within half a second of Ocon but, with overtaking notoriously difficult around Zandvoort, was unable to find a way through. Ocon effectively solved the problem by pitting on Lap 17, promoting Alonso to P12. Stroll meanwhile, had made his first stop on lap 16, coming out in P20 on hard tyres, before commencing edging his way back through the order, while Alonso remained out - Aston Martin extending his opening stint on the soft tyres. The double world champion gained further places when Gasly and Tsunoda stopped for fresh tyres on lap 19 and then made up another place, when Hülkenberg came into the pits on lap 21. Alonso was now in P9, in a points paying position and hunting down Albon and getting within DRS range of him, before Albon decided to pit as well on lap 27, leaving the way clear for Alonso to grab 8th position. It was an impressive performance from Alonso, who was extracting remarkable longevity from the soft tyres while maintaining competitive pace. Stroll meanwhile, wasn’t doing so well – he was running in P17 only, due to some damage picked up from earlier in the race (maybe debris from Verstappen’s Red Bull), resulting in a handling issue. By lap 30 it was evident that Alonso’s tyres were beginning to fade. Lawson, who was ahead of Alonso, started pulling away and Hülkenberg began gaining from behind. At the front, Antonelli was still leading Norris, just a second behind, then it was Russell. On lap 32, Stroll inherited a place when Sainz pitted and when Hülkenberg got to within a second of Alonso on lap 35 it prompted the team to finally bring him in for his one and only stop. The mechanics delivered an excellent 2.3-second stop, fitting hard tyres that would take him all the way to the chequered flag. He rejoined in P13. Stroll, then made his second stop 2 laps later and returned to the circuit on hard tyres again, in P18. Alonso, on fresh hard tyres, closed rapidly up to Albon and drew alongside the Williams before completing the pass on lap 39 and was back up to P11. With several cars ahead still needing to stop again, points were becoming a realistic possibility and as the different strategies played out Alonso climbed back into the top ten when Tsunoda came into the pits for his final stop for fresh tyres on lap 47. Unfortunately, Stroll came back into the pits again on the same lap and was in the garage a long time before the decision was taken to retire the car due to the handling issue. Back on track, when Gasly pitted on lap 48, Alonso gained a further place and was P9, but his challenge was whether he could protect that place. With 20 laps remaining, Tsunoda was ~8 seconds behind Alonso, with Gasly a further second behind that Red Bull and on considerably fresher tyres. The leaders meanwhile were having their own epic battle. Hamilton was leading the race and Norris had just sublimely passed Antonelli and then made a brilliant overtake on Hamilton to retake the lead. A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) provided some temporary respite for Alonso, when Ocon stopped on track with 17 laps remaining, effectively keeping the same gaps behind Alonso, which were now down to 6 seconds.
Once racing resumed, Gasly passed Tsunoda and began hunting down the Aston Martin. With 15 laps remaining the gap was 4.6 seconds to Alonso but 5 laps later it had fallen to only 2.1 seconds. By lap 64 Gasly was within a second and had the advantage of much fresher medium tyres against Alonso's ageing hard tyres. What followed was a masterclass demonstration of Alonso's defensive abilities. Despite the tyre disadvantage, he positioned the Aston Martin carefully around a circuit where passing opportunities were scarce and refused to give Gasly an opening. The Alpine driver briefly dropped more than 2 seconds behind after making a mistake but quickly recovered and was back within a second by Lap 66. With 3 laps remaining Alonso was still defending P9 when another VSC was deployed to allow debris to be removed from the circuit due to a clash between the 2 Williams cars. It provided some welcome relief, although racing resumed with 2 laps still to run. Alonso survived the final attack and brought the AMR26 to the chequered flag in 9th place. At the front Norris took victory ahead of Antonelli, with Russell holding off the Ferraris to complete the podium. From Aston Martin’s perspective, Alonso's P9 and the 2 valuable World Championship points that accompanied it were arguably the most significant result since the development programme began to transform the AMR26.
Reaction and Comment
Unlike the solitary point Alonso had collected amid the extraordinary attrition and penalties in Monaco, this result had not simply fallen into Aston Martin's hands. Alonso had progressed from P18 to P9 through a combination of genuine race pace, tyre management, strategy and overtaking. He had run as high as P8 during the first stint, the team had executed an excellent 2.3-second pit stop, he had passed a number of other drivers on track and successfully defended 9th place from Gasly, who was on considerably fresher tyres, during the closing stages. Hungary had provided the first evidence that Aston Martin's major chassis upgrade had moved the AMR26 forward. Zandvoort, with Honda's Spec 2 power unit now added to that package, provided evidence that the improvement was beginning to translate into genuine race competitiveness. For the first time this season, Aston Martin had not merely inherited points – they had raced for them and earned them. Immediately after the race Alonso’s reaction was of surprise, but very pleased, "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”. It’s those ‘driveability’ issues that he expanded upon subsequently – “We’ll have to wait a bit longer with the engine, I don’t think this weekend has yielded the result we were hoping for. We don’t have that handling, that gear-shifting feel. Everything we’d improved with the first engine; we’ve gone back a bit to square one with this second one, so we’ve got about two or three races ahead of us to optimise it.” So still work to be done there. Stroll also picked up on the theme of driveability, "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."
The next race is going to be in Monza, Italy, renowned for being a power circuit, and with the Honda engine still ‘under construction’ the team is not expecting to repeat the feat it achieved in Zandvoort but there’s 2 weeks for Honda to try and improve aspects of the power units handling. In the meantime let’s absorb the result and celebrate the 2 points.