Dutch Grand Prix — Three Winners, One New Championship Leader

Zandvoort returned Formula 1 from its summer break with exactly the sort of weekend the Empire needed: a Sprint, a dramatic Grand Prix, a home favourite in the wall, a mid-weekend driver reshuffle, and — because apparently ordinary results are no longer sufficient — three fantasy teams finishing joint first with exactly the same score.

Lando Norris took victory on Sunday from Kimi Antonelli and George Russell after an eventful race in which Max Verstappen crashed out early in front of his home crowd. Russell had already claimed Saturday’s Sprint ahead of Charles Leclerc and Norris, making Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari the places to be for fantasy points all weekend.

The Zandvoort Triple

The fantasy result was remarkable.

Fasnacht FC, MWS Racing and Dragonfly all scored 146 points.

More remarkable still, all three had selected precisely the same five drivers:

Kimi Antonelli • Lewis Hamilton • Charles Leclerc • George Russell • Oscar Piastri

Independent strategic brilliance or evidence that the Empire has developed a hive mind? The Commissioner is investigating.

Whatever the explanation, it was the perfect combination for Zandvoort. Russell was worth 41 Empire points across the Sprint weekend, Antonelli 36, Leclerc 31, Hamilton 22 and Piastri 16.

Total: 146.

Three teams. One lineup. One round victory.

Fasnacht Takes the Championship Lead

The biggest consequence belongs to Fasnacht FC.

Team Bennie-tton arrived at Zandvoort leading the championship by 39 points after Hungary. Fasnacht’s +146 against Bennie-tton’s +89 produced a 57-point swing in a single weekend.

The result puts Fasnacht FC on 1196 points, 18 ahead of Team Bennie-tton on 1178.

The championship lead has changed hands again.

Behind them, MWS Racing’s share of the round win moves the team from fifth to third overall on 1127, while the battle immediately behind has become extraordinarily tight.

Racing Point sits fourth on 1091.

Dragonfly is fifth on 1089.

Almila Racing is sixth on 1088.

Three teams separated by three points.

At this stage, the podium positions appear to be leased by the week.

Norris Delivers the Weekend’s Biggest Fantasy Score

Norris was the individual star of the Empire scoring, converting Sprint and Grand Prix performance into +48 points.

Russell followed on +41, Antonelli scored +36 and Leclerc +31, while Fernando Alonso’s progress through the field produced an excellent +24.

At the other end came the hazards of Zandvoort. Verstappen’s home Grand Prix ended in the barriers, several drivers collected penalties, and DNFs ensured that a badly chosen lower-price driver could undo a considerable amount of good work elsewhere.

The weekend was particularly complicated by Isack Hadjar’s absence. Liam Lawson moved into the Red Bull seat, while Yuki Tsunoda filled the vacated Racing Bulls drive. For Empire scoring purposes, Hadjar selections therefore received Lawson’s score, while Lawson selections received Tsunoda’s score.

If that sentence makes perfect sense to you, congratulations: you may now apply for a position in Formula 1 administration.

Dutch Grand Prix — Empire Results

Position Team Points

=1 Fasnacht FC 146

=1 MWS Racing 146

=1 Dragonfly 146

4 Heads Up Racing 110

=5 Almila Racing 103

=5 Brutus Force 1 103

=5 Luck of the Irish 103

8 Marks Marauders 97

9 Racing Point 94

10 Team Bennie-tton 89

11 Harvey Mushman 87

12 Wallop A Sassenach 67

Championship Standings

Position Team Points

1 Fasnacht FC 1196

2 Team Bennie-tton 1178

3 MWS Racing 1127

4 Racing Point 1091

5 Dragonfly 1089

6 Almila Racing 1088

7 Marks Marauders 951

8 Luck of the Irish 941

9 Heads Up Racing 903

10 Brutus Force 1 889

11 Harvey Mushman 869

12 Wallop A Sassenach 609

Next Stop: Monza

The Empire now heads to Monza and the Temple of Speed.

The Team Picker is open again, and managers are free to trade right up until the start of FP1.

There has been no driver repricing following Zandvoort, so the values currently shown in the picker remain unchanged for the Italian Grand Prix.

Long straights, heavy braking, minimal downforce and another championship lead that suddenly looks anything but secure.

Choose wisely.

And if Fasnacht FC, MWS Racing and Dragonfly submit the same five drivers for a third consecutive race, the Commissioner will be requesting access to their WhatsApp accounts.

The Empire moves on to Monza.