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Mercedes are no longer the team to beat in Formula 1 claimed Andrea Kimi Antonelli after McLaren’s second consecutive victory in the Dutch Grand Prix. Lando Norris passed Antonelli on his way to victory in yesterday’s race at Zandvoort, as he did in the previous round in Hungary.“For sure, we’re clearly not the fastest car anymore on the grid,” said Antonelli, who holds a 59-point lead in the drivers’ championship. “We’re probably second or third, at least in today’s race, and McLaren has taken a huge step, especially since Hungary, since the big upgrade package they brought.” However Antonelli has high hopes for Mercedes’ forthcoming upgrade for its W17. “The team has been working super-hard on this next package that is coming up and they just want to make sure that it’s going to work out well once we put it on,” he said. “So for sure, in this race, it’s going to be more difficult, it’s going to be challenging, but we’re ready to do our best and to maximise every opportunity. And then hopefully it’s going to be our turn to bring the package that’s going to give us a little bit of the upper hand again.” Antonelli’s team mate George Russell believes McLaren’s strength in the last two races has been partly due to the similarities in the track layouts. “I don’t think it’s a major surprise for us, seeing how competitive Lando was this weekend, considering he won in Budapest,” he said. “It’s a very similar circuit with the long corners, high tyre degradation, with the two-stop strategy, so there’s a lot of similarities between the two circuits. “I think this may continue for the coming two or three races until we start to bring more to the car, and fingers crossed our competitors don’t.” He expects Mercedes will be “slightly more competitive” in the next race at Monza, the fastest circuit on the calendar. “However, I believe Ferrari have an engine upgrade incoming, and the truth is we just don’t know. “But I do believe that these high-degradation circuits really suit McLaren very well, and especially Lando. He’s always been a bit of a specialist in those conditions. We also saw it last year. Monza may be slightly different, but I think they are the team to beat right now.” Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and Miss nothing from RaceFans Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here: 2026 Dutch Grand Prix - Leclerc failed to obey two orders to pit while he held Hamilton up - Stroll demanded penalties after Bearman and Bortoleto passed red pit exit light - Mercedes is “clearly not the fastest car on the grid any more” claims Antonelli - Russell defends “fair” decision to let Antonelli into second place - Antonelli says extra pit stop “put George at risk” too