{"id":863863,"date":"2026-08-22T02:14:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T02:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863863\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T02:14:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T02:14:13","slug":"contenders-primed-to-chase-down-antonelli-as-f1-season-resumes-formula-one-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/863863\/","title":{"rendered":"Contenders primed to chase down Antonelli as F1 season resumes | Formula One 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dutch Grand Prix may be hosting its final meeting on the Formula One<\/a> calendar this weekend but its farewell heralds the opening of a championship run-in that is far from over. Rested, reset and ready to rumble, the title contenders in Zandvoort have an anticipatory air as they enter the sharp end of a fight which, as last season demonstrated, could yet be taken to the finale.<\/p>\n

Resuming after F1\u2019s summer break there is, as always, a sprightly atmosphere to the sport. Team members have had time with their families and drivers have had a chance to decompress, assess, heck, even have a bit of fun, with Mercedes\u2019s George Russell becoming engaged to his partner, Carmen Montero Mundt, and Lando Norris out and about in Ibiza with pals. Lewis Hamilton got his head down and trained hard, proclaiming himself fitter then ever, energised and refreshed, while Max Verstappen emerged at his home race to announce a new contract with his Red Bull team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They reconvene here in the dunes on the North Sea coast, with much work still to do, and for all that Mercedes and the championship leader, Kimi Antonelli<\/a>, are holding the whip hand, there are 12 scheduled meetings left and all to play for, after five different winners in the last five races.<\/p>\n

After last year\u2019s Dutch GP, McLaren\u2019s Oscar Piastri<\/a> led his teammate Norris by 34 points and Verstappen by 104. By the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Norris took the title from Verstappen by two points, with Piastri back in third. This time Antonelli leads Ferrari\u2019s Hamilton by 50, with Russell third, 59 in arrears. Norris is 91 behind but he and McLaren are on something of a roll, with victory at the last round in Hungary. The numbers are ominous but in Zandvoort none of the chasing pack feel Antonelli is out of reach.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old Italian has been a revelation this season, with six wins demonstrating confidence and control perhaps beyond his years but also a verve and ebullient enthusiasm. Yet the teenager knows he cannot afford to lose any focus, while Mercedes\u2019 reliability issues have been their achilles heel and the reason there is no chicken counting occurring in Brackley.<\/p>\n

Hamilton cuts a charged-up figure in the Netherlands. The seven-time champion is enjoying a season that could not stand in starker contrast to the annus horribilis of his first year with Ferrari<\/a>. The team are sharp, the car is to his liking and there is a palpable sense that the Scuderia are on course. The gap to Antonelli is a gulf but not insurmountable, not least as Ferrari have another engine upgrade to come, expected to be introduced in Monza, and are deploying an upgraded floor in Zandvoort. Hamilton is hungry, a player once more in the title fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to come out of a break and be in a scenario where we\u2019re right in the mix with the top four teams, second in the championship,\u201d he said. \u201cFerrari one step away from where they belong. Our goal is to make that next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen, seen here ahead of Ferrari\u2019s Charles Leclerc during sprint qualifying, has signed a new contract with Red Bull. Photograph: ANP\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Such a great leap forward cannot be ruled out: Ferrari\u2019s aerodynamic upgrades this season have been enormously effective and the seven-time champion has a wealth of formidable experience to bring to bear if he puts Antonelli under pressure.<\/p>\n

Russell believes he too has more to come, exhibiting the same mindset as Norris did last year. Nothing is over until it\u2019s over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to not overthink it, trust in my ability and drive a little more instinctively. That\u2019s maybe what I wasn\u2019t doing before the break,\u201d he said. The 28-year-old has suffered no little bad luck but nonetheless has yet to match his teammate\u2019s pace and, given they are in the same machinery, both will benefit equally from car development, so the forthcoming three races will demonstrate if he can make his instincts count.<\/p>\n

Norris and McLaren<\/a> have a way to go but they too are not quite out of the fight. The team are still adapting to making the most of their Mercedes engine and how best to exploit it, while their aero developments have also been impressive, progress they hope will be furthered by a swathe of upgrades here and ensuring Norris has written nothing off.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI would say I was more focused and ready to get back into things this year, I still believe it\u2019s possible,\u201d he said. \u201cI know there\u2019s still a chance and if there\u2019s a chance, then I want to fight for it but I\u2019m not the main contender in the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verstappen, with a new deal under his belt, has lost none of his desire to win and Ferrari\u2019s Charles Leclerc is equally feisty, but it is Antonelli who remains the key player. He has appeared entirely relaxed and at ease in the Netherlands and, with a title at stake in only his second season, his understated observation regarding Zandvoort\u2019s final race demonstrated quite how cool he is in this crucible.<\/p>\n

\u201cMercedes hasn\u2019t won here since 1955, it\u2019s been a long time,\u201d he noted with a smile. \u201cSo it would be nice to finish off with a win for me and for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Friday\u2019s sprint qualifying Russell took pole position for Saturday\u2019s short-form race, with a strong lap to beat Norris into second place by four-hundredths of a second.<\/p>\n

The McLarens had looked strong across the day but when it mattered Russell had the edge for his third sprint pole, exactly the opening to the second half of the season he would have wanted, particularly as Antonelli could manage only fifth.<\/p>\n

Leclerc was third, Piastri fourth and Verstappen and Hamilton in sixth and seventh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dutch Grand Prix may be hosting its final meeting on the Formula One calendar this weekend but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-863863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}