F1 is finally back this weekend after a month-long summer break, in which the normal chaos of the driver market has been unusually quiet this time around.

The big news however is from the sport’s newest team, as Cadillac finally put to bed the speculation on their driver lineup as they announced the experienced pairing of Valterri Bottas and Sergio Perez. The duo both return to the sport after a year on the sidelines ready to spearhead the American outfit as they head into 2026.

Inevitably, the most eyes will return back to the top of the standings as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris continue to go head-to-head in the battle for the drivers title. Norris has hit a decent run of form, winning 3 of the last 4 races, but Piastri still leads the way at the top of the pile.

The Brit will be confident of narrowing that gap further having won this race at a canter last year, despite a hiccup at the start, losing the lead to home favourite Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman has resigned himself to his new reality behind the papaya cars, and doesn’t expect this to change for the rest of the season. There could still be some quality viewing as he, George Russell and Charles Leclerc battle for 3rd place in the standings however.

Russell returns from the summer break with his future still not set in stone at the Brackley outfit, perhaps a strange situation given that Max Verstappen is no longer considered an option for next year. Interestingly it seems the balance of power has now shifted into Russell’s hands because of this and he may be holding out for a longer and more lucrative contract with no other top calibre drivers left on the market.

It is worth noting that Kimi Antonelli’s deal also only runs until the end of the season, but with only the Red Bull family seats as well as one at Alpine available, it seems unlikely that he will be going anywhere else should Mercedes wish to keep him.

In the midfield, Pierre Gasly will be looking to drag Alpine off the foot of the table at a track he’s done well at before, whilst the rookies will face an entirely unique challenge around the banked turns of Zandvoort with potentially some variable weather thrown into the mix too.