Oscar Piastri emerged victorious as Lando Norris rolled snake eyes in a wild Dutch Grand Prix. The Brit suffered a mechanical DNF – McLaren’s first since 2023 – handing a maiden F1 podium to rookie Isack Hadjar. Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both crashed out, capping off a nightmare weekend for Ferrari.
Max Verstappen made the early headlines as his soft tyre selection paid dividends when the lights went out. The bumper Dutch crowd roared as the reigning champion hung it out around the outside of Turn One. He couldn’t complete the move until Turn Three, though, and was forced to lunge hard around the outside of the Brit on corner entry, nearly losing control in the process.
Verstappen’s advantage lasted just nine laps, though. As his softer Pirelli rubber started to wear, Norris made a well-executed move around the outside of Turn One, clearing the Red Bull driver before Turn Two.
For the next 12 laps, the field maintained the status quo, but this was shaken up on lap 22 when Hamilton found the barriers after running wide at Turn Three. On the safety car restart, more chaos unfolded with Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz coming together.
There was also a clash between Leclerc and George Russell a handful of laps later, after the Ferrari star attempted an audacious lunge at Turn 12. Ferrari’s day then turned disastrous as the Monegasque racer was tagged into the Turn Three wall by Kimi Antonelli, who attempted a bold move on warmed-up tyres after an undercut effort.
With fewer than 10 laps remaining Norris’ title charge was dealt a cruel blow. Moments after reporting smoke from his cockpit, the McLaren driver slowed to a crawl before stopping on track with a mechanical issue. This freed up team-mate Piastri to claim a vital win with Verstappen and rookie Hadjar following him home.
Dutch Grand Prix results
1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Alex Albon (Williams)
6. Oliver Bearman (Haas)