As the 2025 Formula 1 season resumes after the sport’s summer break, here are the main talking points to look out for at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

Title battle ramping up

For each of the remaining 10 rounds of the season, all eyes are going to be on Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris as the McLaren duo battle it out for a maiden drivers’ title.

Australia’s Piastri leads Norris by nine points, but it’s the Brit who had the edge before the break as he won three of the last four races.

The intensity has gradually ratcheted up as the pair have moved further clear of the rest of the grid, with Max Verstappen now 97 points back from Piastri in third place.

There was a flashpoint in Canada in June when a Norris misjudgement resulted in the pair colliding, but any bad feeling developing from the incident was prevented by the fact it was the Brit who suffered race-ending damage, rather than Piastri.

The closest we’ve come to a repeat was last time out in Hungary when Piastri very nearly drove into Norris as he attempted to pull off a late pass for the lead, with a stern warning coming down the radio moments after the incident.

It’s fair to say that the gloves have been off for a while on track, but – thanks to some superb management by McLaren bosses Andrea Stella and Zak Brown – the well-mannered pair have kept relations completely cordial outside of the cockpit.

A tight contest up until the end of the season appears almost certain, but it remains to be seen just how fierce the battle could become as the tension builds over the coming weeks.

Verstappen uncertainty remains?

Despite the thrilling nature of the title battle, most racegoers in Zandvoort will be primarily coming to see one man – national hero, Max Verstappen.

Last December’s announcement that the event will be dropped from the sport’s schedule after 2026 is only likely to encourage the hugely passionate Orange Army to have their fun while they still can on the North Sea coastline.

For the first time since the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the calendar in 2021, Verstappen arrives at his home race out of the title race, and with uncertainty still hanging over his long-term future.

Ahead of the final race before the summer break in Hungary, the 27-year-old finally put an end to speculation linking him with a move to Mercedes in 2026 by saying he is staying with Red Bull next year.

However, his team then had perhaps their worst weekend of the season yet in Budapest, before photos of Verstappen on board Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s yacht during the break surfaced on the internet.

Verstappen already explained in Hungary that social encounters with Wolff have no bearing on his future, but it’s hard to believe the Austrian isn’t thinking about more than just friendship when he is around the sport’s top driver.

For that reason, it will be fascinating to hear what each has to say when they are inevitably asked about the link-up, with Wolff’s answer likely to be more telling with Verstappen having set out his stance.

Will Russell get a new contract?

The other thing Wolff is bound to be asked about, assuming no announcement comes before the weekend, is the contract situation of his two current drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

It was Russell who sent speculation around Verstappen joining Mercedes into overdrive when the Brit told Sky Sports F1 in June that his own contract extension was being held up by the team’s pursuit of the Dutchman.

Mercedes have insisted throughout the saga that their status as both Russell’s employer and management means they have no concerns over losing the Brit, with Antonelli in the same situation having come through the team’s junior programme.

However, some suggested that the pendulum in the contract negotiations had been swung back in Russell’s favour by Verstappen saying in Hungary that he was staying with Red Bull for 2026.

Regardless of the details, with Verstappen committed to Red Bull for next year, Mercedes could save themselves and their drivers from having to repeatedly answer the same questions by getting the deals done.

It would be surprising if an announcement doesn’t come sooner rather than later.

Can Hamilton rediscover form?

Aside from an out-of-form Antonelli, the driver who most needed the summer break was almost certainly Lewis Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion’s debut season for Ferrari appeared to have reached crisis point after a disappointing Hungaroring qualifying effort led him to declare himself “useless” and suggest the team should replace him.

There was never any doubt that Hamilton would be back after the break, and workout images recently uploaded on his social media account with the caption “no days off” suggest the 40-year-old is fully refocused.

He remains in search of a first grand-prix podium for Ferrari, with his career-longest streak of races without finishing in the top three now at 16.

While Hamilton hasn’t been helped by some fundamental issues with the SF-25, there’s a feeling that he must regain some confidence before the end of the season to ensure belief remains he can compete for a record eighth drivers’ title in 2026 should Ferrari produce a contender.

The consistency of his qualifying woes over the last couple of years suggest a three-weekend break isn’t going to magically reverse Hamilton’s fortunes over one lap, but there is a middle ground to be found.

If Hamilton can cut out the quite significant errors that hampered his qualifying in Belgium and Hungary, he should put himself in position to fight for some podiums, and maybe even a victory.

Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 29-31, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime