Oscar Piastri powered to victory in a dramatic Dutch Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday, with Max Verstappen finishing second on home soil and McLaren’s Lando Norris suffering a late-race retirement after running in podium contention.
Piastri, who started from pole, led from start to finish at the Zandvoort circuit in a race marked by three safety car periods and rapidly changing weather conditions. It was the Australian’s sixth win of the season, extending his lead in the drivers’ championship to 34 points.
“I felt like I was in control of that one and just used the pace when I needed to,” said Piastri. “If we can keep it running then that’d be great but there’s a long way to go yet and we keep doing it one race at a time.”
French rookie Isack Hadjar delivered the surprise result of the day, finishing third for Racing Bulls and becoming the fifth youngest podium finisher in Formula One history. The 20-year-old was jubilant: “This was always the target since I was a kid. So this is the first step, my first podium and hopefully much more.”
The race began with a thrilling start as Verstappen jumped Norris off the line, only to lose control momentarily before recovering. Norris, however, regained second place by overtaking the Dutchman on lap nine, setting up a McLaren one-two before the rain arrived.
Light rain began to fall around lap 15, intensifying by lap 25 when seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton crashed out after sliding his Ferrari into the barriers. “I’m so sorry guys,” said Hamilton over team radio, continuing a difficult run of form for the veteran driver.
Piastri managed the tricky conditions and held off his teammate during the middle stages of the race. As the track dried, McLaren instructed Norris to push with a message: “Let’s go get Oscar.” However, overtaking remained difficult on the narrow and twisty circuit, where the pole-sitter has won every race since the venue’s return in 2021.
A second major incident came when Charles Leclerc collided with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, spinning into the barriers and ending Ferrari’s miserable weekend. That brought out another safety car, but once again Piastri responded with calm, setting the fastest lap when it mattered most.
The final twist came just six laps from the end when Norris reported smoke in his cockpit and pulled over, ending his hopes of a podium in devastating fashion.
Verstappen closed the gap in the final laps, cheered on by his “Orange Army”, but Piastri held firm to take the chequered flag.
The F1 calendar now moves to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix on 7 September, where Ferrari will look to recover from a disastrous weekend. However, their hopes have already taken a blow as Hamilton received a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags before the start of the Dutch race.
