Oscar Piastri won the Dutch GP at Zandvoort, extending his championship lead, as Norris retired late. Verstappen took second, Hadjar scored his first F1 podium.
Oscar Piastri walked away from Zandvoort with a smile. Lando Norris didn’t. One McLaren made it home. The other didn’t even see the flag.
The Dutch Grand Prix swung back and forth on strategy calls, three Safety Cars, and cruel mechanical luck. After 72 laps, the title fight shifted. Piastri extended his lead at the top of the standings to 34 points. Norris sat in the dunes, helmet off, trying to process what had just gone wrong.
“It was a really good race. I felt in control the whole time,” Piastri said afterwards. “Unfortunate for Lando, but from my side I’m proud of the week we put together.”
The build-up
Saturday had set the stage. Piastri edged Norris by 0.012s for pole. Verstappen lined up third at his home race. That alone cranked up the anticipation.
The weather kept everyone guessing. Forecasts threatened showers, but the track stayed dry, heavy skies pressing down on the dunes. Most of the field committed to mediums. Haas tried the hards. Verstappen, Tsunoda, Colapinto and Hülkenberg gambled on softs. Ollie Bearman didn’t even line up — Haas switched his power unit and sent him from the pit lane.
72 laps ahead. One of those afternoons.
The start
Lights out. Piastri clean. Norris bogged. Verstappen leapt past and the grandstands shook. He threw it around the outside at Turn 3 but ran wide on the banking.
“I tried to send it,” Verstappen admitted. “But there was too much sand in Turn 2.”
Norris fought back immediately. By Lap 2 he was back through, slotting behind his teammate.
Further back, Hadjar launched into fourth. Leclerc mugged Russell for fifth. Albon jumped five places in the opening corners, sniffing points from P15.
Lap 4. Piastri led by two seconds. Then the radio crackled – “Class one rain in a few minutes.” The drops never came. Verstappen’s softs went instead. By Lap 9 Norris swept past, taking second. McLaren were running one–two.
Early phases
The midfield was anything but calm. Stroll banged wheels with Bortoleto, debris scattered. Bearman reported damage on the Kick Sauber ahead.
Colapinto started to fade as his softs died off, prompting Alpine to swap Gasly through. Colapinto’s day turned into a three-stop: Soft–Hard–Medium–Soft.
“It was a fun race and my best finish of the season,” he said after crossing P11. “At the end we tried Softs under the Safety Car to attack. We were close but just missed the points.”
Gasly had the harder afternoon. “Mixed feelings,” he said after finishing P17. “Sometimes the gamble works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
At the front, Piastri’s gap to Norris hovered at three seconds. Verstappen was already five back. Hadjar clung on in fourth, unfazed by the pressure.
First Safety Car
Lap 23. Hamilton lost the rear into Turn 3 and thumped the barrier. Out came the Safety Car.
Pit lane chaos. McLaren double-stacked. Piastri sailed through. Norris was delayed but held position. Verstappen bolted on mediums and stayed third. Hadjar clung to fourth, with Russell, Leclerc, Lawson, Sainz, Ocon and Albon behind. Both Haas cars stayed out.
Green again on Lap 26. Piastri nailed the restart. Norris close. Verstappen prowling. Deeper in the pack, Sainz and Lawson collided, both limping back with ruined afternoons.
VSC and mid-race scrapping
Debris triggered a Virtual Safety Car. McLaren stuck to their plan: run to the end if possible.
Behind them Leclerc and Russell fought wheel to wheel, the Ferrari forcing through in a move that sparked radio fury from both camps.
The stewards were busy. Lawson and Sainz’s clash under review. Leclerc and Russell’s tussle noted. Then came a 10-second penalty for Sainz.
Up front, McLaren’s choice was clear. No strategy tricks. If Norris wanted the win, he had to take it on track.
Mid-race intensity
By Lap 48 the lead was just over a second. Norris shadowing. Verstappen somehow keeping life in his mediums in third. Hadjar still in the mix, Russell pressing but unable to pass.
Then came the second big one. Antonelli lunged at Leclerc. Contact. Ferrari in the wall. Safety Car again.
McLaren boxed both cars for hards. Antonelli crawled back with damage, slapped with multiple penalties for the collision and then for speeding in the pit lane. Haas finally gave up their long gamble and pitted both cars. Tsunoda was nursing throttle gremlins.
Bearman had stretched his set of hards for 53 laps. “The C2 did the bulk of the work today,” said Pirelli’s Mario Isola. “All three compounds proved competitive. Even the Softs went longer than expected.”
Final stages
Restart number two. Piastri flawless. Verstappen tried to pounce on Norris with fresh softs but the McLarens held firm.
Ten laps to go. The papaya gap less than a second. Verstappen fading. Hadjar still fourth, on course for something remarkable.
Then it all unravelled.
Lap 65. Norris radioed a strange smell. Seconds later smoke poured from the McLaren. He coasted to a stop, climbed out, and sat on the grass. Another title drive gone.
Third Safety Car
Norris’ stranded car brought out the Safety Car again. Leclerc’s wreck still sat in the gravel. Antonelli’s day got worse with more penalties.
Two laps left when green returned. Piastri cool. Verstappen never close enough. Hadjar, barely believing it, staring at a podium.
The flag
72 laps done. Piastri first, Verstappen second, Hadjar third. A maiden F1 podium for the French rookie, standing tall at Zandvoort.
“It feels unreal,” Hadjar said. “I maximised what I had, made no mistakes, and brought home the podium.”
Verstappen backed him. “For a rookie, to be here already is fully deserved. He drove a great race.”
Russell fourth. Albon magnificent in fifth from P15. Bearman sixth after starting from the pit lane. Aston Martin collected seventh and eighth with Stroll and Alonso. Tsunoda bagged ninth for Red Bull. Ocon took the final point for Haas.
Top 10 – Dutch Grand Prix 2025
- Oscar Piastri – McLaren – 1:38:29.849 – 25 pts
- Max Verstappen – Red Bull – +1.271s – 18 pts
- Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls – +3.233s – 15 pts
- George Russell – Mercedes – +5.654s – 12 pts
- Alexander Albon – Williams – +6.327s – 10 pts
- Ollie Bearman – Haas – +7.891s – 8 pts
- Lance Stroll – Aston Martin – +9.112s – 6 pts
- Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin – +10.305s – 4 pts
- Yuki Tsunoda – Red Bull – +11.427s – 2 pts
- Esteban Ocon – Haas – +12.054s – 1 pt
Championship fallout
What looked like a McLaren head-to-head turned one-sided. Piastri’s seventh win moves him 34 points clear. Norris left with nothing.
“It’s not a comfortable margin,” Piastri admitted. “One DNF can change it very quickly.”
Hadjar heads to Monza on a high. “It’s going to be tricky with the long straights,” he said. “But this team has history there. Pierre won a few years ago. Always good memories.”
Ferrari’s nightmare added more fuel to the Constructors’ fight. Mercedes are now just 12 points away from second.
👉 Post-race, stewards confirmed Lewis Hamilton will take a five-place grid penalty at Monza for failing to slow under double yellows on the way to the grid.
What’s next
Straight to Monza. Ferrari need redemption. Piastri has momentum. Norris has questions to answer. The championship battle feels different now.
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