Dutch GP Conclusions: No tears for Zandvoort, Verstappen power play, Lawson makes his case

And so, not for the first time, Formula 1 has bid farewell to Zandvoort, The Netherlands, and the Dutch Grand Prix.

It’s with a sense of mixed emotions because, while the Dutch fans transform the event into something far bigger than a motor race, there has never really been much racing in the six years since F1 returned.

There will be no tears for Zandvoort

Truth be told, Zandvoort won’t be missed, at least from a sporting perspective. Historic as it may be, the venue is not what it was. Or, perhaps it is, and that’s the problem and is why few in the paddock will shed a tear over its absence.

The circuit itself was long ago bastardised into something insulting to its original name. Once a fast, flowing blast through the sand dunes, shaky finances meant half the land was sold off and the circuit cut in half with the delicacy and foresight of a council planning committee. What has resulted is a tedious little circuit not befitting a world championship event, and certainly ill-fitting of F1 machinery from the last three decades. The working conditions are also cramped, with a split paddock that reinforces how the sport has long outgrown a circuit that was designed in the 1940s. This year, the vagaries of the hybrid systems meant there was some overtaking, and some decent moves, but that doesn’t undo years of processional racing on a circuit with barely a straight worth its name for cars to stretch their legs.

From a sporting and operational standpoint, the event therefore won’t be particularly missed. But from a fan and spectacle perspective, the event will be mourned because the Dutch know how to throw a party – it’s just so happened to have a motor race in the middle of it.

It’s not all bad news, though as the Dutch fans do tend to travel, so while we’re giving up on Zandvoort we’re not losing that enthusiasm. We’ve grown accustomed to  having the Dutch army in Austria, Hungary, and Belgium too. The party will continue, but be different, for at least for the next four years.

Red Bull’s brave new world

Credit to Red Bull, Max Verstappen’s renewal was a masterclass. There are no secrets in Formula 1 and yet the news of the four-time world champion’s decision didn’t leak out until the announcement was made. The packaging of that was a touch misleading though, branding it as ‘four more years of full send’, that’s not really true though, is it? Max already had a contract through until the end of 2028, so it’s two more years. The point was clearly to stamp out any speculation that he might leave the team sooner, but we all know contracts in F1 are largely meaningless, or at the very least negotiable. I think we can all see through the marketing spin that was put on the announcement for what it was.

It does though offer a clue to a few things. The first is that we can assume that whatever contract Verstappen has signed replaces that which was in place until 2028. Logically, therefore, it must be a better (and presumably far more lucrative) deal. There comes a point where money is secondary, and Verstappen is certainly at that point, but it does serve as a means of keeping score, of sorts. Verstappen is a generational talent, one of F1’s greatest ever, and his salary should reflect that. And so it’s perfectly reasonable that there are suggestions that the Dutchman’s new salary will be the highest base income of any F1 driver ever – and perhaps the first to surpass the $100 million annually.

Money aside, perhaps more important to the man himself is what the deal allows him to do, because that autonomy is perhaps where the greatest value comes for Verstappen. The Dutchman is a free spirit, a passionate racer who happens to be good enough at it to do it for a living. He thrives on diversity and new challenges, and the purity of competition. At the pinnacle, those elements aren’t always there, or are perhaps muddled by politics and self-interest, elements of the sport that aren’t to everyone’s taste. Having that freedom to escape that to something simpler and perhaps more pure offers a release valve, a way of reconnecting with the sport at a more primal level and is almost certainly critical to Verstappen’s longer-term future in F1. It would be a travesty to lose the likes of Verstappen because of a regimented contract that squeezed the enjoyment out of the sport, and for that Red Bull should be applauded for being brave enough to afford him that freedom.

Perhaps the loudest claps will come from Melbourne, given it was Oscar Piastri who was seemingly at risk had Verstappen chosen to switch camps. It’s widely known discussions took place with McLaren, and more specifically Zak Brown, and one can understand why. Formula 1 is the ultimate meritocracy, and when a driver of Verstappen’s calibre becomes an option, no team boss worth their salt wouldn’t find a way to squeeze him into their car. In McLaren’s case, to do that would likely have meant parting ways with Piastri. Such is business in F1. It’s not personal, it’s just the brutal nature of elite level sport. Brown is pragmatic too; it’s easy to imagine that, had it been Norris who missed out on the championship last year that it would have been the Brit at the heart of the Verstappen speculation instead of his Australian stablemate.

Let us not forget that McLaren took a punt on Piastri. He was unproven when the team took the plunge, and paid a pretty penny to bench Daniel Ricciardo to make way. He benefited enormously from McLaren, and has done his part to repay that. He’s won races, led the championship, and contributed to Constructors’ Championship wins. There has been value on both sides of the ledger and one can therefore argue that, today, neither owes the other a thing.

There’s also an elephant in the room, and that is that Piastri is being out-performed by Norris. The Australian isn’t at the same level as he was a year ago, and that too made the concept of Verstappen in, Piastri out far more plausible. Unravelling that mystery is perhaps now the most significant task for McLaren because Piastri is capable of more – we’ve all seen it.

As a general rule, there are two types of driver; those who thrive on instability and those who need comfort. Some need that uncertainty to push them beyond their comfort zone and get the best from themselves. Others need safety and security to go digging deep to find that final tenth. Evidence would suggest Piastri falls into the latter category. His best performances have all come when he’s had the full support of the team, and when there have been no distractions.

It has been a tougher start to F1 2026 for McLaren and the Verstappen noise won’t have helped Piastri’s own inner-peace. When speculation begins, the questions quickly follow and so too does the doubt, the uncertainty, the loss of that security and comfort, willingly, consciously or otherwise. With Verstappen’s future secured elsewhere, the speculation has immediately subsided and in Zandvoort there were flashes of the Old Oscar. It was nonetheless encouraging to see the young Aussie delivering to the level he’s shown he’s capable of, even if that did disappear once the chocolates were handed out – though McLaren must accept its part in that one for a tardy pitstop. Still, it was a tentative little step in the right direction.

The same is arguably true of his trans-Tasman colleague, Liam Lawson.

A potentially career changing chance

Lawson is one who, on the surface thrives amid uncertainty, but in reality is much like Piastri and flourishes when he is trusted. He never got there at Red Bull last season, and perhaps that’s what rankles most. When he’s been thrown in the deep end he swam not because he thrived on uncertainty but because he was trusted enough to be given the opportunity in the first place. What was true then is perhaps true now. At the end of 2024, the Kiwi’s place at Red Bull was debated; did Yuki Tsunoda deserve it more? Lawson got the nod, but it wasn’t clear cut, at least not externally, and that hint of uncertainty remained. This time around, there were no such questions.

More experienced, more comfortable, more confident, Lawson was again given that trust when Isack Hadjar injured himself. Throw into the mix cars that are more accessible, and that belief – self or otherwise – and Lawson has thrived.

But what might it all mean? Could Lawson usurp Hadjar at the senior Red Bull team? In truth, probably not. The Frenchman has impressed enough that a single weekend for Lawson, no matter how good, is unlikely to sway opinions in Milton Keynes. But it could be significant nonetheless, career defining even in the same way the Dutch GP was back in 2023.

With the senior team seemingly settled, the key question for Lawson to ask is whether Racing Bulls is his future. Verstappen is locked in, Hadjar an apparent shoe-in, what is left for Lawson? With the likes of Nikola Tsolov on the rise and Arvid Lindblad proving he’s more than worthy of a seat in F1, the Red Bull junior team is likely to find itself with more drivers than it has seats.

The Dutch GP could therefore be instrumental, and especially timely for Lawson. He’s had strong form, but it’d been difficult to gauge given Lindblad is a rookie and therefore not a known quantity. But performing alongside an established name like Verstappen, and racing him wheel to wheel briefly in Sunday’s race, reinforces Lawson’s credentials – even if his race was entirely anonymous after that point. Still, with little opportunity to get up to speed, all but matched his four-time world champion teammate – the established and accepted benchmark in Formula 1. That’s the sort of performance that doesn’t go unnoticed.

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