DUTCH GP – Oscar Piastri wins by a second from Max Verstappen, as Lando Norris suffers engine failure in drama filled race
Oscar Piastri delivered a strong defensive drive to beat Max Verstappen by just over. a second to win the Dutch Grand Prix. The Australian spent much of the race battling with McLaren teammate Lando Norris, whom he fended off with the answer until the Englishman was forced to retire because of an engine failure with six laps to go.
Norris, up until the late engine failure, looked to be chipping away at Piastri’s lead and just started to come into DRS range, before a loss of power followed by smoke pouring from the rear of his McLaren as he stopped which the team confirmed shortly after was caused by an oil leak.
Piastri, meanwhile, had beautifully controlled the race consummately from pole position throughout a series of incidents, including briefly threatening rain. But Norris had such momentum since his collision with his teammate in Montreal, this could however, be the moment when the championship was ultimately decided.
The two McLaren’s navigated their way through the chaotic second half of the race, which featured three safety cars, multiple crashes and incidents. That changed in a moment and could be a decisive moment in this championship with seven weekends remaining this season. Piastri leads Norris by thirty-eight points with seven Grands Prix and three Sprints remaining.
The closeness between Piastri and Norris makes the Englishman’s retirement possibly a fatal blow in the championship. Piastri had pipped him to pole and defended him off to take control at the start before pulling away.
Norris briefly lost second to Verstappen, and when he was back passed the four-time champion, whittled down the gap to three seconds until a Safety Car for Hamilton’s crash neutralised things as the front-runners all pitted together with fifty laps remaining. Most drivers were expected to not pit, so it was a straight fight between the McLarens on the track.
Norris pushed hard but was never able to get within DRS range of Piastri, who controlled the race wonderfully. After the second safety car, Piastri again fended off the pressure from Norris after the Safety Car, then got a big slice of season fortune when he retired on Lap Sixty-Four.
Piastri said, “It feels good obviously, I controlled the race when I needed to and obviously it was incredibly unfortunate for Lando [Norris] at the end. I felt like I was in control in that one and felt like I used the pace when I needed to, it was a bit of a different race to twelve months ago.”
Verstappen, who finished second: “It wasn’t easy. I gave it everything at the start to move forward. We just had to do our own race, unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace of the McLarens. We got a bit lucky with one returning. In general, to be on the podium here is a great result.”
The Englishman, dejected sitting in the dunes in scenes similar to his retirement late on in Euro F3 at Red Bull Ring, joined by Leclerc. He said, “Not much. Just want to go have a burger and go home. I was quick today. It is impossible to overtake here. A good race today. I was happy I could stay within 1.5/2s. It was a positive race but it didn’t mean anything. I couldn’t get past. Oscar deserved it today. Just not my weekend.”
Verstappen finished ahead of Isack Hadjar, the Racing Bull driver jubilant as he finished almost two seconds behind the four-time champion as he scoring his first podium. The Frenchman delivered his strongest weekend of his debut season as he continued to show his potential as he finished nearly seven tenth ahead of Alex Albon, with Ollie Bearman two seconds further behind.
The Haas driver delivered the best result of his career with sixth, one place better than he managed in Jeddah when standing in for Carlos Sainz last season. That was despite Bearman starting from the pit lane, at a circuit where overtaking can be more challenging. He was four and a half tenths ahead of both Aston Martin’s, with Lance Stroll finishing two seconds ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso.
Yuki Tsunoda was ninth nearly two seconds behind Alonso and just over four and a half tenths ahead of Esteban Ocon, to complete the top ten. Franco Colapinto was eleventh as the Argentine missed out on the points by just under four and a half tenths as he finished ahead of Liam Lawson by two and a half seconds.
Lawson finished three tenths ahead of a frustrated Carlos Sainz, who was given a penalty for a collision with the Williams.
Ferrari’s hopes of a reset fell apart, Lewis Hamilton crashing out on lap twenty-two after being caught out by rain, and Charles Leclerc retiring thirty laps later following a collision with Alex Albon. Leclerc and Hamilton were running fifth and seventh in the first part of the race, Leclerc trying in vain to challenge Hadjar and Hamilton pressuring his former Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Leclerc had also been involved in another incident with Russell in the second part of the Hans Ernst chicane. Leclerc accused Russell of moving under braking, Russell accused Leclerc of overtaking by going off the track on the inside, and stewards will investigate the incident after the race.
They can also expect a visit from Carlos Sainz, who felt aggrieved to have been the driver penalised for a collision between his Williams and the Racing Bull of Liam Lawson at the first corner, Tarzan, on lap twenty-seven
Hamilton suffered a moment of oversteer sent him even higher than the normal high line there, and he could not avoid the end of the barrier on the exit of the corner. He clipped it and crashed into the wall. Meanwhile, Leclerc’s drama came thirty laps later, when he collided as he rejoined the race with Kimi Antonelli. The Italian also given a penalty for causing a collision.
Nico Hulkenberg was fourteenth as he finished nearly two seconds ahead of his Sauber teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, with Antonelli’s penalty dropping him behind. Pierre Gasly was the final finisher over a second and a half behind the Mercedes, with Norris classified eighteenth.
Related
- Dutch GP – Qualifying Result
- DUTCH GP – Oscar Piastri pips Lando Norris by just over a hundredth to take pole with Max Verstappen third
- DUTCH GP – Lando Norris makes a clean sweep of practice, topping FP3 by a quarter of a second from Oscar Piastri
- DUTCH GP – Lando Norris fastest ahead of Fernando Alonso by almost a tenth in second practice
- DUTCH GP – Lando Norris leads McLaren one-two three, tenths faster than Oscar Piastri in first practice
- Welcome to the Dutch Grand Prix
- PRIXVIEW – Dutch Grand Prix