The race starts during the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2025 in Zandvoort, Netherlands, on August 31, 2025. (Photo by Gabriele Lanzo - Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesFormula 1 is back in action after its annual three-week summer break, with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort kicking off the second half of the 2026 season.
Right before the pause, defending champion Lando Norris celebrated his first win of the year in Hungary, crossing the line in his McLaren 15.080 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli rounded out the podium in third place for Mercedes and further strengthened his grip on the championship lead.
He now holds a 50-point advantage over second-place Lewis Hamilton heading to Zandvoort and is 59 points clear of teammate George Russell in third.
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Circuit Zandvoort hosts a sprint event for the first time this weekend, meaning there are a maximum of 33 points up for grabs for a driver.
As the championship enters its critical second half, Antonelli eyes the full points haul to keep his rivals at bay in his bid for a maiden drivers’ title.
Meanwhile, the Ferrari duo of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will be looking to snatch wins on a track that suits them on paper and cut the gap in the standings.
Verstappen will also be hoping to secure one more victory at home in front of his orange army before Zandvoort drops off the F1 calendar at the end of the year.
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Circuit Zandvoort F1 Stats
- First Grand Prix: 1952
- Circuit Length: 4.259km (2.646 miles)
- Race Distance: 306.587km (190.504 miles)
- Number of Laps: 72
- Number of Turns: 14
- Fastest Lap Time: 1:11.097 (Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2021)
- Most Wins (Driver): Jim Clark (4)
- Most Wins (Constructor): Ferrari (8)
- Most Pole Positions (Driver): René Arnoux, Max Verstappen (3)
- Most Pole Positions (Constructor): Lotus (8)
- Most Podiums (Driver): Jim Clark, Niki Lauda (6)
- Most Podiums (Constructor): Ferrari (26)
- 2025 Race Winner: Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
F1 Dutch Grand Prix 2026 Schedule
Zandvoort plays host to round 12 and the fifth sprint of the season this weekend. This means teams will only have one practice session to dial in their cars and gather crucial data.
The sole practice session (FP1) kicks off at 12:30 p.m. local time (CEST) on Friday, August 21, followed by sprint qualifying later in the day at 4:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Aug. 22, drivers will battle it out in the 100km sprint at 12 p.m. before fighting for starting grid positions in the grand prix qualifying at 4 p.m.
The main race will kick off at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23.
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Dutch Grand Prix 2026: Free Practice Start Times
All below start times are on Friday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time (CEST): 12:30 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 6:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 5:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 3:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 4:30 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 11:30 a.m.
- Australia (AEST): 8:30 p.m.
- Australia (AWST): 6:30 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 8 p.m.
- Brasília, Brazil: 7:30 a.m.
- Mexico City, Mexico: 4:30 a.m.
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 1:30 p.m.
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: 2:30 p.m.
- Ankara, Turkey: 1:30 p.m.
- Tokyo, Japan (JST): 7:30 p.m.
- Beijing, China (CST): 6:30 p.m.
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 6:30 p.m.
- New Delhi, India (IST): 4 p.m.
Dutch Grand Prix 2026: Sprint Qualifying Start Times
All below start times are on Friday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time (CEST): 4:30 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 10:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 9:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 7:30 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 8:30 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 3:30 p.m.
- Australia (AEST): 12:30 a.m. on Saturday
- Australia (AWST): 10:30 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 12 a.m. on Saturday
- Brasília, Brazil: 11:30 a.m.
- Mexico City, Mexico: 8:30 a.m.
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 5:30 p.m.
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: 6:30 p.m.
- Ankara, Turkey: 5:30 p.m.
- Tokyo, Japan (JST): 11:30 p.m.
- Beijing, China (CST): 10:30 p.m.
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 10:30 p.m.
- New Delhi, India (IST): 8 p.m.
Dutch Grand Prix 2026: Sprint Start Times
All below start times are on Saturday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time (CEST): 12 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 6 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 5 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 3 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 4 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 11 a.m.
- Australia (AEST): 8 p.m.
- Australia (AWST): 6 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 7:30 p.m.
- Brasília, Brazil: 7 a.m.
- Mexico City, Mexico: 4 a.m.
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 1 p.m.
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: 2 p.m.
- Ankara, Turkey: 1 p.m.
- Tokyo, Japan (JST): 7 p.m.
- Beijing, China (CST): 6 p.m.
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 6 p.m.
- New Delhi, India (IST): 3:30 p.m.
Dutch Grand Prix 2026: Qualifying Start Times
All below start times are on Saturday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time (CEST): 4 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 10 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 9 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 7 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 8 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 3 p.m.
- Australia (AEST): 12 a.m. on Sunday
- Australia (AWST): 10 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 11:30 p.m.
- Brasília, Brazil: 11 a.m.
- Mexico City, Mexico: 8 a.m.
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 5 p.m.
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: 6 p.m.
- Ankara, Turkey: 5 p.m.
- Tokyo, Japan (JST): 11 p.m.
- Beijing, China (CST): 10 p.m.
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 10 p.m.
- New Delhi, India (IST): 7:30 p.m.
Dutch Grand Prix 2026: Race Start Times
All below start times are on Sunday unless stated otherwise.
- Local Time (CEST): 3 p.m.
- United States and Canada (EDT): 9 a.m.
- United States and Canada (CDT): 8 a.m.
- United States and Canada (PDT): 6 a.m.
- United States and Canada (MDT): 7 a.m.
- United Kingdom (BST): 2 p.m.
- Australia (AEST): 11 p.m.
- Australia (AWST): 9 p.m.
- Australia (ACST): 10:30 p.m.
- Brasília, Brazil: 10 a.m.
- Mexico City, Mexico: 7 a.m.
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: 4 p.m.
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: 5 p.m.
- Ankara, Turkey: 4 p.m.
- Tokyo, Japan (JST): 10 p.m.
- Beijing, China (CST): 9 p.m.
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: 9 p.m.
- New Delhi, India (IST): 6:30 p.m.
How To Watch 2026 F1 Dutch Grand Prix
Fans in the U.S. can catch all the live action of the Dutch Grand Prix on Apple TV, while viewers in the U.K. can tune in to Sky Sports for extensive coverage of the weekend, with highlights available for free on Channel 4.
In select regions, F1 TV Pro subscribers can tune in for live coverage on any device, along with the opportunity to catch up on full session replays and highlights afterwards.
Below is the broadcast information for some key territories:
- United States: Apple TV
- United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland: Sky Sports
- Canada: RDS, RDS 2, TSN, Noovo
- Italy: Sky Italia
- Netherlands: Viaplay TV
- Belgium: RTBF, Play Sports
- Australia: Fox Sports, Foxtel, Kayo
- Japan: Fuji TV
- Austria: Servus TV, ORF
- China: Shanghai TV, Guangdong Television Channel, Tencent
- New Zealand: Sky NZ
- Spain: DAZN
- Germany: Sky Deutschland, RTL
- France: Canal+
- Portugal: DAZN
- Mexico: TUDN, Sky Sports, Izzi
- Singapore: beIN SPORTS
- Brazil: TV Globo, sportv
- Middle East and Turkey: beIN SPORTS
- Latin America: ESPN
- Africa: SuperSport
Highlights from each day of the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix weekend will be available on F1’s YouTube channel.
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This article was originally published on Forbes.com