18 August 2026 16:00 (UTC)
“We have worked hard as a team on continued development, with some parts available this weekend”
Formula 1 returns from the summer break to a unique weekend of firsts and lasts at Circuit Zandvoort.
It was a strong finish to the first half of the season for the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team, with a first win of the year at Budapest capping off a challenging but promising start to 2026.
This weekend marks the final Dutch Grand Prix of its current run, with the race not scheduled to feature on the calendar in 2027. It will also be Zandvoort’s first experience of the Sprint format, which will offer further opportunities for points as we look to build on the progress made in Hungary.
Having earned a hat-trick of wins in Budapest, we have the chance to repeat this feat in the Netherlands, following victories for Lando in 2024 and Oscar in 2025. McLaren have five wins in total at the historically tricky track, courtesy of five different drivers. James Hunt, Alain Prost and Niki Lauda all won at Zandvoort before the race's 35-year hiatus from 1986 to 2020.
So, to wet your whistle for the return of F1, we’ll recap our history at the Dutch Grand Prix and walk you through everything you need to know ahead of the weekend, including the key sections of the circuit, our expectations, and the upgrades we’re bringing.
“We head into the Zandvoort weekend after finishing the final race before the shutdown with a win and a strong performance, but we are very aware of how close the competition is and how important reliability will be.
“We have learned a lot in the first part of the season about how this car needs to be driven to extract performance and on containing the issues we faced earlier in the year. We have also worked hard as a team on continued development, with some parts available this weekend, focusing on the rear side, to complete the package introduced in Hungary with a new rear wing and new rear brake ducts. But we know other teams will bring developments too. Therefore, it will be another tough event, and our focus is on getting everything we can out of the car. If we execute well, we can put ourselves in the fight with the leading teams.
“The circuit in Zandvoort offers a unique challenge from an engineering perspective, with its banked corners, high-speed sections, undulating layout and the wind, which can make the car’s handling unpredictable. One of the key focuses for the weekend will be finding the right balance between stiffness and ride performance over the bumpier sections of the circuit, while making sure we optimise the aerodynamic setup and ride heights across practice.
“With the 2026 cars, we expect cornering speeds to be lower because of the reduction in downforce, but straight-line speeds will be higher thanks to the increased power and reduced drag in straight mode. That changes the way the drivers will approach parts of the lap and means practice will be important for understanding the upgrades we are bringing, refining harvest and deployment, and adapting if the weather adds another layer of complexity.
“Overall, we look forward to getting back racing after the break. We are moving into an extremely demanding second half of the season, and with 12 races still to come, the team’s attention remains firmly on our own development and performance as we build on the work completed in the first half of the season to target greater consistency in extracting performance from the MCL40.”
The Dutch Grand Prix has been won from Pole in each of the five years since its return to the Formula 1 calendar as, like in Hungary, areas to overtake are limited. As such, Qualifying will prove to be a critical phase of the weekend.
The main overtaking opportunity at Circuit Zandvoort comes at Turn 1, otherwise known as Tarzan Corner. Following a long main straight, the corner is wide enough for two cars to go all the way round side-by-side, so drivers can overtake on the outside or inside.
However, while Zandvoort’s banked corners can be quite wide, they are also unforgiving, with some narrow kerbs and nothing but gravel on the other side.
Drivers also need to use the whole track to angle their approach into every single corner, as they come thick and fast after Turn 1, leaving precious few other opportunities to get past. So, finding the sweet spot throughout the track is a challenge, and the risk vs reward is high as it is a circuit that will punish small mistakes heavily. That’s reflected in the three Safety Cars we saw at the Dutch Grand Prix last year. As such, strategy could play a more significant role than normal in who takes the Chequered Flag first.
Victory at the Hungaroring for Lando ahead of the summer break means we go into the second half of the season with positive momentum. On a demanding, high-downforce circuit, an upgraded MCL40 showed clear progress, with both drivers fighting for the win before Oscar’s unfortunate retirement.
Further updates are planned for Zandvoort that will complete the package we introduced in Hungary, including a new rear wing and rear brake ducts.
With 11 rounds complete, we are third in the Constructors’ Championship with 220 points, 87 points behind second. In the Drivers’ standings, Lando is fifth and Oscar seventh.
With the front of the field highly competitive, and development still a decisive factor, consistency and adaptability will remain key, while our objective remains unchanged: to keep pushing performance, maximise execution, and continue building competitiveness across every area of the race weekend.
21 - 23 AUG
It’s tough to pinpoint a pivotal moment in our 2024 World Championship-winning season, because they’re all pivotal moments. The season went down to the final laps in Abu Dhabi – which does rather suggest every point was vital, but some days felt more significant than others. Lando’s victory at Zandvoort was one of those.
Going to Zandvoort, Red Bull Racing led the Constructors’ Championship, and Max Verstappen was well on his way to a fourth consecutive Drivers’ title. The Dutchman had won his home race in the previous three seasons, but Zandvoort, like the Hungaroring, had the sort of medium-speed layout where the MCL38 really thrived, and Lando edged out Verstappen for Pole.
“Being the first race after the shutdown that year, it energised the whole team as we pursued Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship in a phase of the year where we had the strongest car,” says Will Joseph, Lando’s Race Engineer.
Advantage, however, swung back to Max as he took the lead as the field charged down to Tarzan for the first time. Lando stayed calm. Through the first phase of the race, he kept Verstappen honest, without attempting an overtaking move, hovering on the edge of DRS range to deny Max an opportunity to look after his tyres.
“Lando’s pace was very strong even when so close behind,” remembers Will Joseph. “Max suffered worse degradation than we did, and that gave Lando an opportunity to overtake him on track, which was amazing. From that point, Lando’s true race really shone, a bit like in the last event in Hungary, and he just drove away from the field.”
Lando closed up and executed a clean pass into Tarzan on Lap 18, and then drove away, building up a gap at a second per lap. Verstappen pitted on Lap 27, Lando covered on Lap 28, and that was the final moment of jeopardy in the race. He cruised home to take his second F1 victory with a margin of 23 seconds, bagging the extra point for Fastest Lap on his 72nd and final lap. Will Joseph joined Lando on the podium, representing the team.
“It was a lifelong dream fulfilled. Having grown up admiring those that stood on that top step, it was a huge privilege for me and an experience I will remember forever. It felt appropriate to give the famous champagne spike a go.”
The team remained second in the Constructors’ Championship but closed the gap to Red Bull to just 30 points.
Each race week, we’ll be putting the same question to Lando and Oscar to find out just how similar (or different) they really are. The question could be anything: from their favourite corner on the F1 calendar, to their ultimate pre-race anthem, or even the one food they absolutely refuse to eat on race week.
This week, we asked them what is more challenging: A nine-darter, a one-four-seven break or a hole-in-one?
Oscar: I think the one-four-seven. You need to have so many perfect shots, but a nine-darter is very difficult – even just hitting one triple 20 is pretty tough for a professional.
Lando: All pretty easy, I've done them all! No, I’m kidding… A one-four-seven break. I think that is probably the hardest of them all.
Follow all of the action this weekend via the McLaren Racing App, available to download on Android and iOS.
