NASCAR on TV this week
(Photo by Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images)

F1 Review: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri Wins Dutch GP; Lando Norris Suffers Crushing DNF, Isack Hadjar Grabs First Podium

by

Pole-sitter Oscar Piastri led from start to finish, controlling the race through three safety cars before Lando Norris’ late engine failure ensured Piastri’s spot atop the podium in the Heineken Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday (August 31st). An oil leak was the culprit for Norris’ disabled McLaren, and a scoreless day for Norris meant Piastri left Zandvoort with a commanding 34-point lead in the drivers standings. A double DNF for Ferrari opened the door for several drivers to finish in the points.   

“It feels good, obviously,” said Piastri. “I feel like it’s a pretty hard act to follow Isack standing up here, so I’ll try my best. I controlled the race when I needed to and obviously incredibly unfortunate for Lando at the end, but I felt like I was in control of that one and just used the pace when I needed to. It was a bit of a different race to 12 months ago, so [I’m] very happy with all the work we’ve done to try and improve around here. Very satisfied to come out on top.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen delighted his home fans with second place, also a beneficiary of Norris’ misfortune. Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar consolidated a career-best Q4 start by snatching his first-ever podium finish in third. Mercedes’ George Russell was fourth, Williams’ Alex Albon charged from 15th on the grid to finish fifth, while Haas Racing’s Oliver Bearman placed sixth. 

The Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finished seventh and eighth, respectively, with Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda taking ninth, scoring his first points since Italy in May. Haas’ Esteban Ocon grabbed the final point in 10th.

In the driver standings, Piastri added 25 points to his previously nine-point lead over Norris and now leads 309 to 274. Verstappen sits in third with 205. 

McLaren’s string of 1-2 finishes ended at four, but they still widened their lead over scoreless Ferrari in the constructors table, where McLaren’s lead is now 324 points, 584 to 260. Mercedes holds third with 248.

The Race

Piastri was off well at lights out, but Verstappen, on soft tires, got the jump on Norris for second. Verstappen maintained the position despite getting sideways between Turn 2 and Turn 3.

Piastri’s lead was up to nearly two seconds by lap 4, and right on cue, forecasts of rain were reported, with the rain said to arrive in about 10 minutes. It was certainly not the news Piastri wanted to hear, with a sizable lead on Verstappen and his championship rival and teammate Norris well back in third.

Norris picked up the pace and moved into DRS range on Verstappen by lap 8, likely psyching himself for the always difficult task of passing the Dutchman. Norris, however, made quick work of the job, clearing Verstappen into and around Turn 1, with Verstappen offering little to no resistance. Norris then drove off to chase down Piastri. 

Hadjar was holding his own, and maintained fourth, with Leclerc’s Ferrari right on his tail. Leclerc was unable to clear the Racing Bull, and was told to back off from Hadjar, as the Ferrari was experiencing some cooling issues.

Norris was slowly but consistently carving into Piastri’s lead, and the gap was under three seconds by lap 16. With the pit window for a two-stop strategy approaching, Norris had to decide if he wanted the alternative to whatever Piastri’s strategy was. If the one-stop strategy was the option, Norris would have to stretch his medium set several more laps.

Hamilton lost control on lap 23 in the banked chicane and hit the barriers, bringing out the safety car. Hamilton’s nightmarish season with Ferrari just got worse, suffering his first DNF for Ferrari.

McLaren double-stacked their pit stops, with both cars taking hard tires, and Piastri’s three-second cushion was gone. Verstappen left the pits on a medium set, still in third, and hoping the mediums would give him a slight advantage over the McLarens.

The safety car came in on lap 27, and Piastri quickly reestablished his advantage, with his lead over a second after just one lap of green flag racing. Sainz and Lawson engaged in contact, with each sustaining a puncture, ending their hopes for points. Sainz later got hit with a 10-second penalty, much to his disbelief.

A Virtual Safety Car was briefly deployed on lap 31 because of a piece of debris on the front straight. That was certainly a surprise, because debris had been on the track previously without a VSC. 

Once green flag racing resumed, Leclerc and Russell went wheel-to-wheel for position, with the Ferrari gaining the upper hand as the two cars made significant contact. The incident was investigated by stewards after the race, and deemed a racing incident.

Norris was closing the gap to Piastri, and by lap 42, the margin had narrowed to 1.3 seconds, with the duo trading fastest laps. Piastri had a slight pace advantage, but the balance of power could easily be shifted by rain, a safety car, or even traffic.  

Verstappen was seven seconds back of Piastri, solidly in third and solidly hopeless to challenge for anything better than that.

Another disaster struck for Ferrari on lap 53 when Antonelli misjudged an overtake attempt on Leclerc, who had just exited the pits, and drifted into the Ferrari, sending it spinning out of Zandvoort’s banked turn. Antonelli promptly and deservedly received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision. 

The second safety car of the race came out, and again, McLaren double-stacked their pit stops, each leaving with a new set of hard tires. The cars in positions 3-7 (Verstappen, Hadjar, Russell, Albon, and Antonelli) all pitted for soft tires. To continue his pursuit of Piastri, Norris would first have to hold off Verstappen on soft tires. 

Green flag racing resumed on lap 58, and Verstappen pressured Norris early, but Norris held firm. Norris was into DRS range with 12 laps to go, but Piastri quickly handled that assault and steadied the gap to over one second.

Piastri seemed to have the race well in hand, and that was confirmed when Norris’s engine quit with seven laps to go. A disaster for Norris, but a boon for Piastri, and for Hadjar, who was now set for a podium finish. Another safety car was sent out while Norris’ stricken McLaren was removed from the track.

The safety car was in with four laps remaining and Piastri slowly pulled away from Verstappen, with the McLaren driver mindful of unnecessarily pushing his engine, considering what he had just witnessed from his teammate.

Piastri took the checkered flag 1.2 seconds ahead of Verstappen, with Hadjar completing a memorable weekend with his first F1 podium.   

The Good

Racing Bulls’ Isaak Hadjar had a performance (in the race and qualifying) that will surely top his memory, as well as his resume, should he desire a promotion in 2026. On Saturday (August 30th), Hadjar posted a career-best qualifying effort of fourth, which placed him in row 2 alongside Max Verstappen, close enough for Hadjar to maybe whisper, “Psst. I hear you might be looking for a teammate who doesn’t suck.”

But beware what you wish for. Being Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate looks good on paper, especially the paycheck, but measuring yourself on the track against the four-time world champion can leave you quite discouraged.      

What a comeback for Aston Martin. Lance Stroll crashed hard in Friday’s (August 29th) second free practice session. Then, after his team worked overtime to repair his car, Stroll again lost it in Q1 on Saturday (August 30th). The damage prevented Stroll from continuing in qualifying, and he started last. Feeling the effects of his crashes, Stroll played the role of “sore loser” when he walked out of his media session mid-question. 

But, through sheer determination, not to mention race attrition that claimed two Ferraris and one McLaren, Stroll persevered and climbed to seventh place. It had to make his father and meal ticket, Lawrence Stroll, proud, proud that his entitled offspring can, at times, suck it up and overcome adversity, as well as his talent deficiencies, to succeed in F1.  

The Bad

Who had the worst day in Zandvoort? Ferrari, or Mercedes wrecking ball Kimi Antonelli? Ferrari’s nightmare started when Lewis Hamilton lost the rear end of his car as he navigated Zaandvoort’s banked Turn 3 on lap 23 and crashed into the barrier, ending his day.

As if it couldn’t get any worse for Ferrari, Antonelli said, “Hold my beer, that I may or may not legally be able to drink,” and wrecked Leclerc on lap 53 into the very same Turn 3 barrier that claimed Hamilton. Leclerc climbed from his car, left the track, and headed onto a sand dune, where he sat alone, contemplated life, and asked himself, “What am I doing here?” It’s likely the same question he asks himself often from the cockpit of his Ferrari.

Antonelli was quickly rendered a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, then solidified his sudden case of recklessness by speeding on pit lane and incurring a five-second penalty later in the race.

After a promising start to the season, in which he scored points in the first three races and five of the first six, Antonelli has struggled, with results in the points in only two of the last nine races. After handling a steep one early in the season, it seems Antonelli’s learning curve is now a straight line.

Lando Norris suffered the worst-case scenario for his championship hopes: a DNF, and his teammate and lone championship rival, Oscar Piastri, won the race. Maximum points for Piastri, zero points for Norris. It was much worse than a kick in the teeth for Norris. With this being the Dutch Grand Prix in the Netherlands, it was double Dutch boot to Norris’s nether regions.

Jacques Villeneuve: Formula 1 Icon, Fashion Eyesore

Although it was “Race Sunday,” Sky Sport’s Jacques Villeneuve’s attire suggested it was “Casual Friday,” if he worked in a record store in the 1990s.

Villeneuve has a lot to say, and often his opinions are as disheveled as his manner of dress, but the 1997 world champion nailed his assessment of Kimi Antonelli. Villeneuve suggested the Mercedes rookie has not progressed at the same rate as other rookies, such as Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto. And Antonelli’s actions at Zandvoort certainly won’t change Villeneuve’s opinion. If Antonelli could have truly learned from his mistakes, he’d be a genius right now. But instead of learning from his mistakes, he’s just repeating them.  

Grid Walk Moment

With Martin Brundle off for the Dutch Grand Prix, it’s a good time to discuss an alternative to the Grid Walk. And the Zandvoort Circuit was the perfect place for this alternative. I’m talking about sending a Sky Sport’s pundit into the most orange-clad section of the stands, with the express purpose of finding an attendee not dressed in orange, and interviewing this “fan” while the rest of the fans rain boos, shame, bitterballen, and/or debris down upon him/her.

The Driver

While Isaak Hadjar’s Saturday (August 30th) qualifying effort of Q4 may have been a surprise at the time, his performance in Sunday’s (August 31st) race proved it wasn’t surprising at all. Hadjar firmly held his position of fourth for nearly the duration of the race and held off a charging Charles Leclerc early in the race.

And after Lando Norris’ late retirement, which paved the way for Hadjar to finish on the podium, the Racing Bulls driver handled business over the final laps when just the slightest of errors could have caused that podium finish to vanish.

The Red Bull organization may have doubted their decision after the season opener in Australia, where Hadjar crashed out on the formation lap at the wet Melbourne circuit. But since that point, Hadjar has proven that Red Bull made the right choice.    


The Results (Heineken Dutch Grand Prix, Circuit Park Zandvoort)

POS.NO.DRIVERTEAMLAPSTIME / RETIREDPTS.
181Oscar PiastriMcLaren721:38:29.84925
21Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing72+1.271s18
36Isack HadjarRacing Bulls72+3.233s15
463George RussellMercedes72+5.654s12
523Alexander AlbonWilliams72+6.327s10
687Oliver BearmanHaas72+9.044s8
718Lance StrollAston Martin72+9.497s6
814Fernando AlonsoAston Martin72+11.709s4
922Yuki TsunodaRed Bull Racing72+13.597s2
1031Esteban OconHaas72+14.063s1
1143Franco ColapintoAlpine72+14.511s0
1230Liam LawsonRacing Bulls72+17.063s0
1355Carlos SainzWilliams72+17.376s0
1427Nico HulkenbergKick Sauber72+19.725s0
155Gabriel BortoletoKick Sauber72+21.565s0
1612Kimi AntonelliMercedes72+22.029s0
1710Pierre GaslyAlpine72+23.629s0
184Lando NorrisMcLaren64DNF0
NC16Charles LeclercFerrari52DNF0
NC44Lewis HamiltonFerrari22DNF0
Donate to Frontstretch
Get email about new comments on this article
Email me about
guest

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Add to the conversation with a commentx
()
x