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ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 30: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes on track during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on August 30, 2025 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. (Photo by Joe Portlock/Getty Images)

Oscar Piastri Wins a Hard-Fought Dutch Grand Prix

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Oscar Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday (Aug. 31). Teammate and championship rival Lando Norris had followed within 1.5 seconds for a significant portion of the race before an engine failure forced him to retire.

Home hero Max Verstappen came second, the same as 2024, followed by rookie Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls. It was the first podium for the promising young French driver.

“I controlled the race when I needed to, and felt in control of that one,” Piastri explained after the race. “I was just trying to improve everywhere I can, and got it together in qualifying. There were a few safety cars, but I weathered it all. There’s a long way to go yet, and I’ll just keep taking it one race at a time.”

George Russell finished in fourth, with Alex Albon and Kimi Antonelli in fifth and sixth, respectively. Oliver Bearman, Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso and Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10.

In what has become a familiar lineup in 2025, the trio of Piastri, Norris and Verstappen occupied the first three grid positions. On this occasion, it was Piastri who had narrowly outqualified his teammate and title rival to start from pole. Verstappen was joined by Hadjar on the second row.

Since the return of the Dutch GP in 2021, all four pole-sitters have gone on to win the race, so getting a good start can dictate the race result. For that reason, Verstappen was one of four cars to start on the red-striped soft tires.

Piastri got a strong start, and Verstappen’s soft tires paid off, allowing him to challenge Norris through the opening corners to claim second place.

Five laps into the race, Piastri was advised that light rain might hit the track within 10 minutes. It was unclear if a change to intermediate wet tires would be required. Piastri responded by opening the gap to Verstappen to four seconds within the next three laps. By lap 8, Norris had closed to within DRS range of Verstappen, retaking second place at the beginning of lap 9.

By lap 15, Norris had reduced the gap from four seconds to just over three seconds, and Piastri was reporting spots of rain on his visor. The pit window had also opened for those cars that started on soft tires.

On lap 23, Lewis Hamilton lost control of his Ferrari and crashed into the barriers. The resultant safety car caused both McLarens to take to the pits for fresh hard-compound tires.

The safety car ended on lap 27, with all cars getting a clean start. Within two laps, Piastri had built a gap of more than two seconds to his teammate.

Charles Leclerc made a committed pass on Russell on lap 32, putting the remaining Ferrari into fifth place.

For over 30 laps, Norris ran within 1.5 seconds of Piastri, reflecting the tight margins that exist in the 2025 Driver’s Championship. Both McLarens were lapping around eight-tenths of a second faster than Verstappen, in third.

A collision between Leclerc and Antonelli on lap 54 brought out another safety car, and both McLarens again stopped for fresh tires. Leclerc hit the barriers and was out of the race, while Antonelli’s Mercedes was able to limp back to the pits.

While both McLarens had changed to fresh hard tires, Verstappen changed to used soft tires in a bid to jump Norris at the restart. Despite having the softer tires, Verstappen was unable to get past.

An engine failure ended Norris’ race on lap 65, bringing out the safety car for the third time, and having a significant impact on the Driver’s Championship.

Following Norris’ retirement, Isack Hadjar was now running in third, raising the prospect of a podium in the RB driver’s rookie season.

All cars had a clean start, and Verstappen again tried to take advantage of softer tires to claim first place from Piastri. As before, the McLaren was too quick for the Red Bull.

Piastri closed out the race to take his ninth win in F1, equaling the total of his race manager and fellow Australian, Mark Webber. With an additional point for the fastest lap of the race, Piastri has increased his championship lead to 34 points.

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Peter Molloy began following Formula 1 during the 1985 Australian Grand Prix. He cheered for a certain Ayrton Senna, who was driving the same black and gold colors as a toy F1 car that Pete had been given. Pete continued to be a fan of Senna throughout his childhood. Fast forward many moons, and Peter now combines significant journalistic experience with decades of watching F1 to cover the latest on-track and off-track action.

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