ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — George Russell started the second half of the Formula 1 season in style as he eased to a sprint race victory on Saturday ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Russell started from pole position, quickly built a gap to Lando Norris in second and managed the pace from there, taking his first win since the Austrian Grand Prix in June.
“Obviously a great start to the weekend,” he said.
Charles Leclerc snatched second off Norris with a daring pass into the inside of the first corner with six laps to go, but couldn't get close enough to try passing Russell.
Norris held off a late charge from Russell's Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli to stay third as Antonelli pulled out of a potential overtaking move on the final lap.
“We just don't have the pace in general, especially in the slow-speed corners,” Norris said.
Fourth-place Antonelli, starting fifth after car damage in qualifying, still managed to extend his standings lead by three more points to 53 because his closest challenger Lewis Hamilton could only manage seventh for Ferrari.
F1 still hasn’t had a wet race this year but came tantalizingly close as rain fell as the drivers were heading back to the pits, seconds after the sprint finished.
"If there was one more lap it would have been a very, potentially, different end to the race so I’m glad the rain came when it did," Russell said.
While it stayed dry, overtaking was difficult, even in a year where the cars' electrical power has made back-and-forth passes common. The overtakes by Leclerc and Antonelli were the only changes of position anywhere in the top 11 finishers.
That should make grid position even more important than usual when qualifying takes place later Saturday for Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix.
See AP’s full auto racing coverage here
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain in action during sprint race at the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort , Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain leads at the start during sprint race at the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort , Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain in action during sprint race at the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort , Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Iran's president says the world has accepted that it's won the war with the United States, while France and Saudi Arabia are expected to discuss plans to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran nearly six months ago.
Meanwhile remarks by the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria appear to contradict official U.S. position over the Golan Heights.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Saturday. Full coverage can be found here.
Iranian state media reported Friday that President Masoud Pezeshkian said the war with the U.S. should end since the world has already accepted that Iran has won. Iran sees its control over the Strait and not giving into U.S. demands as a win.
“The entire world approved our victory and the U.S. is hated,” he said according to IRNA news agency. Iran sees its control over the Strait and not giving into U.S. demands as a win.
The remarks came as the Trump administration is touting a crushing financial campaign against Iran, promising an “economic D-Day” against the country. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would be imposing an “unprecedented” level of economic warfare and isolation on Iran, aiming to force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.
In an interview Friday, Tom Barrack said that Israel “still” occupies the territory in violation of U.N. resolutions.
In his comments made to Mario Nawfal, a Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur, Barrack said that “in the Golan, with Syria, they (Israel) still occupy the Golan, against the U.N. resolutions.”
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981. The U.N. considers the territory occupied Syrian land and the annexation null and void, with U.N. resolutions calling for Israel’s withdrawal to the June 4, 1967, line.
In March 2019, Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, reversing decades of U.S. policy. The move did not change the territory’s status under international law or win broader international recognition.
Colombia became the second country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan this month, joining the United States.
Barrack’s remarks sparked a backlash Saturday from conservative activist and U.S. presidential ally Laura Loomer, who posted on X that he “should resign for his lack of understanding of U.S. foreign policy.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are expected to discuss the effects of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and plans to develop routes around the waterway during the Saudi leader’s two-day visit to Paris beginning Sunday, according to officials in the presidency who are not authorized to be publicly named.
Proposals under consideration include increasing trade through Omani ports outside the Persian Gulf, expanding or doubling pipelines in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, and developing new rail links, the officials said.
France and Saudi Arabia have formed a joint task force on energy and logistics connections between the Middle East and Europe that is scheduled to meet at ministerial level Monday.
The officials said the work was already well advanced and would focus on identifying the most strategic projects, securing financing and establishing roles for French companies. The visit will be Mohammed bin Salman’s first trip abroad since he traveled to Washington in November 2025, according to the officials.
— AP correspondent Angela Charlton in Paris.
President Donald Trump waves was he boards Air Force One upon his departure at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
