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Formula OneLando Norris suffered a championship-altering retirement as Formula One resumed its season with the Dutch Grand Prix. The British title hopeful ended his race slumped in the Zandvoort dunes after an old-school engine failure forced him to retire from P2. Teammate and championship rival Oscar Piastri won the race, extending his advantage to 34 points as F1 counts down to its season finale.
The two McLaren men lined up alongside each other on the front row. Norris had looked the form driver all weekend, but failed to stop Piastri from taking pole position by just 0.012s. That proved critical in the opening metres, too, with Max Verstappen attacking on his home circuit.
With a threat of rain in the air, Verstappen opted for Pirelli's Soft compound tyre. Although best suited for Qualifying, the strategic gamble hoped a switch to Intermediates, as some weather forecasts suggested, would assist. The light rain never justified grooved tyres, but Verstappen still had the benefit of the softer compound, using his extra grip to launch past the Medium-equipped Norris at the Turn 1 entry point.
Norris managed to fight back past Verstappen on the run out of the corner as he battled to retain P2. The two went close on the approach to the banked Turn 3, and the reigning champion edged past despite a fishtailing moment. Norris stuck to the Red Bull's rear wing over the remainder of the lap, but passing is always tricky at Zandvoort, and he had to bide his time.
Without any heavy rain arriving, the advantage soon swung back to Norris. Verstappen's fading Softs cost him as Norris' yellow-walled Pirellis kept their grip. A sweeping move around the outside of Turn 1 leapfrogged Norris back ahead to resume his chase of Piastri, who was alone out front.
Although the drizzle didn't change any strategies, there was a casualty of the lower grip conditions. Lewis Hamilton had a surprise error at Turn 3 and found the barriers. Seemingly caught out by the slippery paint, the seven-time champion smashed into the tyre wall to retire from the race and trigger a Safety Car. It will sting Hamilton, too, after he entered the summer break calling himself 'useless' for his performances in 2025.
The slowdown allowed pit stops without the order changing much. Ironically, Hamilton's Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc was the primary one to lose out, having stopped just before the crash to let George Russell jump ahead. Piastri was unopposed as racing resumed, with Norris, then Verstappen, giving chase. The high-qualifying Isack Hadjar followed Verstappen, just ahead of the Russell-Leclerc battle. It was behind this leading half-dozen drivers where the next drama came.
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Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz got too close for comfort on the restart, and the two collided at Turn 1. A puncture for Lawson and a broken front wing for Sainz saw them drop to the back of the grid. The stewards punished Sainz for his role in the incident, leaving the Spaniard fuming in the cockpit. Williams teammate Alex Albon benefited from the incident, however, building on an earlier dream start that had him advance five positions on the opening lap.
More car-to-car contact followed a brief Virtual Safety Car period to clear the resulting debris, but this time without any major damage. Leclerc retook the lost position from Russell with a brave move at Turn 11. Taking to the kerbs a little, Leclerc elected for the outside line that turns into the inside by Turn 12 to muscle past the Mercedes and up into P5.
Some bodywork damage after the move slowed Russell down enough to see Mercedes invoke team orders as Andrea Kimi Antonelli closed in behind. The Italian rookie began the chase of Leclerc, and eventually undercut the Ferrari to get close. It wasn't enough to gain track position, though, and Antonelli instead tried to pass on the circuit. A lunge on the low route around Turn 3 ended with his Mercedes spinning Leclerc around to end his race and leave Ferrari without any remaining cars.
Another Safety Car period followed, as did a 10-second penalty for Antonelli. A mixture of Pirelli tyres on the remaining cars saw a flurry of midfield activity in the final 15 laps. The most notable change came at the front, however. Norris reported fumes in his cockpit as the lap counter reached 65. He soon pulled over at the side of the road as smoke billowed from his engine to cause one final Safety Car slowdown.
While the cameras picked up a dejected Norris and Leclerc sitting on the side of the circuit, jubilation erupted at Racing Bulls. Norris' retirement advanced Hadjar from P4 to P3, putting the French-Algerian into a podium position. Piastri took the win from a stop-start Sunday, with Verstappen P2, but it was Hadjar celebrating hardest. A standout weekend from Hadjar will put further pressure on Yuki Tsunoda, who again languished behind Verstappen. Could Hadjar be a Red Bull driver by 2026?
The Italian GP is next as F1 bounces back from its summer break with a doubleheader event. It's the Temple of Speed, and a race that sees high strain on engines. Leclerc delighted the home fans by winning there last year after Ferrari outstrategised McLaren. Repeating that feat will be a tall order this year, though. Perhaps the tifosi can pray for another engine failure to hit the papaya team?
