Oscar Piastri has won the Dutch Grand Prix, a race that could go down as a turning point in the championship. He may have secured a first career grand slam, but Piastri did not have it all his own way. An audacious lunge saw Max Verstappen pass Lando Norris for second place on lap one; however, Norris repassed him around the outside of turn one on lap nine and hounded Piastri for the majority of the race. That was until the Brit suffered an oil leak just seven laps from the end. Having trailed Piastri by 9 points coming into this weekend, Norris now finds himself a daunting 34 points adrift.
Verstappen spent much of the race in third but was elevated to P2 by Norris’ DNF. However, the most eye-catching beneficiary was Isack Hadjar. After recording a career-best fourth in qualifying, the rookie fended off both Charles Leclerc and George Russell to retain P4. With Norris’ late DNF, Hadjar claimed an emphatic podium. His first in Formula 1 and RB’s first since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. When asked about a potential call-up to Red Bull for 2026, Hadjar simply said, “I’m ready for anything.”
George Russell had an eventful afternoon en route to fifth. After spending his opening stint behind Hadjar and Leclerc, Russell found himself at odds with the Ferrari driver on lap 32. As the virtual safety car ended, Leclerc attempted an unorthodox pass around the outside of Russell at the stadium section. Leclerc nearly pulled alongside into turn 11 but had to take to the gravel to turn 12 as the pair made contact. Though investigated by the stewards, the incident did not result in a penalty.
Not that Leclerc’s race would have been affected. After pitting for a fresh set of soft tyres on lap 52 – an unusual choice as most were expected to run to the end – Leclerc found himself under attack from Kimi Antonelli upon rejoining the race. The Mercedes driver dove down the inside, but clipped Leclerc’s left rear tyre and spun him into the barriers. The incident earned Antonelli a ten-second penalty, which was later increased to 15 seconds as he was caught speeding in the pit lane. Antonelli finished the race in 6th but was dropped down to 16th once the penalties were applied.
Leclerc’s retirement capped off a disappointing weekend for Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton slid wide at turn three and collided with the barriers on lap 23. Making this Ferrari’s first double DNF since 2023.
After missing out on Q3 on Saturday, Alex Albon was a man on a mission. The Williams driver made up five places on the first lap and ran in the points for the majority of the race. After benefitting from Antonelli’s woes and Norris’ late retirement, Albon ended the race fifth. His best result since Imola.
Haas’ strategic calls were emblematic of a team with nothing to lose. Oliver Bearman ran a bold one-stop strategy after starting from the pitlane, and though he benefited from some well-timed safety cars, the rookie was able to fire up his final set of mediums and came home a career-best sixth. Teammate Esteban Ocon was another man on the move; his one-stop strategy yielded the final points-paying position in tenth.
Despite his frustration at being caught up in traffic early on, Fernando Alonso came home eighth, one place behind his teammate, Lance Stroll, who managed to end his rollercoaster weekend on a high with seventh.
Yuki Tsunoda ended his seven-race points drought with ninth, while Franco Colapinto survived a skirmish with Ocon to secure his best result of the season in 11th. Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz collided on lap 27. Lawson picked up a puncture while Sainz was hit with a controversial 10-second penalty.
The Sauber pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto came home in 14th and 15th, respectively, while Pierre Gasly was last over the line.
The 2025 title race is by no means done and dusted, but with only nine races to go, it's safe to say this is now Piastri’s championship to lose.
