F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton blames Ferrari change as Antonelli confirms grid penalty

Lewis Hamilton looking downcast at the Qatar Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News Today

F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton blames Ferrari change as Antonelli confirms grid penalty

The biggest F1 news on Sunday August 23

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Sunday 23 August 2026 07:01 Updated: 08:17

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Lewis Hamilton blamed a 'subtle' change to his car after practice at the Dutch Grand Prix for his seventh place in sprint qualifying and the subsequent Sprint race.

The Ferrari star came into the weekend hoping that some upgrades brought by the team would help him cut into Kimi Antonelli's lead in the drivers' championship, but his sprint performances have actually seen the Italian extend his advantage despite sustaining floor damage on Friday.

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Mercedes F1 star Kimi Antonelli confirms grid penalty: 'We'll try to recover anyway'

It was a matter of when, not if, and F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli has confirmed when he will take that inevitable grid penalty.

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The 19-year-old Italian star and Mercedes team-mate George Russell are both currently on the verge of triggering a penalty for exceeding the number of power unit components allowed across a season.

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FIA announce Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen penalty verdicts at Dutch Grand Prix

The FIA has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and three other F1 stars will not be penalized despite breaching the International Sporting Code at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Saturday afternoon saw F1 sprint action take place in Zandvoort, with Hamilton and Verstappen coming home in seventh and sixth, respectively.

However, ahead of lights out, the FIA has confirmed that Hamilton, Verstappen Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas breached 'Article 12.2.1.i of the International Sporting Code – Non-compliance with Race Director’s Event Note'.

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Fernando Alonso issues 'incredible' Aston Martin F1 verdict after Adrian Newey upgrades

Fernando Alonso now believes that Aston Martin have a very good car after Adrian Newey worked his upgrade magic, but warned that there is still one key area to address.

After a disastrous first half of the season, Newey and Aston Martin introduced a major overhaul of their AMR26 at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break, which instantly made them more competitive.

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'20 years' of underinvestment': The bleak truth about once mighty Williams F1 team

Williams F1 chief James Vowles has insisted that the team cannot fix 20 years of underinvestment in 12 months, offering a bleak update on their current situation in the cost-cap era.

The first half of the season has been a difficult one for Vowles and co., with the Grove-based outfit currently sitting ninth in the constructors' standings ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Only Aston Martin and Cadillac have fared worse so far, and with the former having introduced major aerodynamic and engine upgrades in recent races, Williams could soon find themselves in an even worse position.

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F1 Qualifying Results: Dutch Grand Prix times and grid positions

Lando Norris has continued to revitalise his F1 title defence after the summer break, taking a brilliant pole position as light rain began to fall on Saturday afternoon at Zandvoort.

Teams sent their drivers out early on their final runs in fear of what the skies may bring, but the droplets which made it onto camera lenses at certain areas of the track weren't enough to stop the McLaren driver and a number of his rivals improving on their last laps.

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F1 Sprint Results: 2026 Dutch Grand Prix times and positions

It's doesn't have the glitz, glamour or iconic harbour, but Zandvoort looked a lot like Monaco early on Saturday as the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint race took centre stage.

F1 racing returned from its summer break with what, for much of the 24 laps run at Saturday lunchtime in the Netherlands, looked like a procession. George Russell took the win from pole position, despite never having a lead of more than about two seconds.

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Aston Martin to wear black armbands at Dutch Grand Prix after tragic death of beloved team member

Aston Martin have confirmed that they will wear black armbands and race with a tribute on their cars at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix after the death of team member Mick 'Biscuit' Fern.

Fern was an much-loved tyre technician who had multiple stints with the team in one guise or other – including back when they were still running as Jordan in 1999. He most recently rejoined them in 2015, when they were running as Force India.

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Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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F1 Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Fernando Alonso Adrian Newey Kimi Antonelli