Five things we learned from the Dutch Grand Prix

The world turned upside down at Optiminal

Everything seemed to be turned upside down at Optiminal's home Grand Prix; while Heiko Kolvenbach had his best weekend by far since his comeback and clinched his first victory since Belgium 2023, Sven Schubert experienced what was probably his worst weekend in recent years. The Swabian failed to make it into Q2 and was thrown back a lap after colliding with new Valle driver Patryk Roszak. Thanks to the safety car, Schubert was able to lap back, only to ultimately end the race due to a mistake by Jörn Dicks. Interestingly, Schubert and Dicks are currently involved in contractual disputes.

Razor GP - missed chance ?

After Schubert's retirement, Razor GP had everything in place to catch up in the Drivers' Championship and extend their lead in the Team Championship. At the end of the race, however, they had only gained eight points in the Drivers' Championship and extended their lead by two points in the Team Championship. Paisler had an even worse qualifying session than Schubert, and Fabian Walter was unable to capitalise on his qualifying strength. In the race, Paisler put in a strong comeback, but Fabian Walter lost his podium place after the final pit stop.

Razor had by far the highest top speed on the straights on a very twisty track, which caused some surprise in the paddock; many drivers also reacted with confusion to the swap of places between Paisler and Walter in the final stint. This meant that points were lost in the battle for the Drivers' Championship, which could well annoy both drivers at the end of the season if these points are ultimately missing from the title race.

Dicks in crisis

Jörn Dicks showed off his skills at Zandvoort, but it wasn't his best performance. Bad luck and mishaps during the race led to a collision with Championship leader Sven Schubert. Dicks said he was too eager to get into the fight. He also said that a bunch of things led to his poor performance: The contract disputes with Sven Schubert had led to a number of side issues; in addition, the Blue Horns is no longer one of the faster cars in the field. This was compounded by a lack of time for training and the search for a second driver for the 2026 season. Not a good combination in the battle for fourth place in the drivers' and team world championships.

However, Dicks has already announced that he will train more in the upcoming races to achieve this goal, despite the many obstacles.

A breath of fresh air after the summer break

VFC brought four complete newcomers from the summer break to Zandvoort: Patryk Roszak, Daniel Scott, Robin Moelling and Johann Asanger. All of them made a convincing debut. Roszak finished his first VFC race in a sensational third place and was promptly signed by Valle for the rest of the season. The Pole will replace Tom Lafont, who broke his hand. Scotland's Daniel Scott took the SVL by surprise with third place in qualifying, but a terrible first lap and minor mishaps prevented a better result. Robin Moelling was denied a possible top-five finish by a disconnect. Johann Asanger went into his first VFC race with low expectations, his goal being simply to finish. The likeable Austrian, well known from Formel1-Liga.de, succeeded in this and was rewarded with his first Championship point.

The dunes of Zandvoort

The VFC visited Zandvoort for the first time in its history and immediately impressed with a thrilling race. The drivers faced a demanding challenge that produced a few surprises; despite fewer overtaking opportunities, there was plenty of action. Zandvoort is now being considered as a possible track for next year's VFC 2026.