Piastri Prevails at Zandvoort: Norris Suffers Retirement Due to Mechanical Failure
The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort witnessed an unexpected turn of events, where McLaren’s Oscar Piastri clinched the victory, while Lando Norris’s championship hopes suffered a harsh blow. Norris, who was in second position, had to abandon the race due to an apparent oil leak in his single-seater, which forced him to stop at the side of the track seven laps from the end. Although Piastri, who led from the start, seemed to have the race under control, Norris had maintained constant pressure on his teammate for 30 laps, taking advantage of the restarts after two safety car periods. The end of the race for Norris came with smoke coming out of his cockpit on lap 65, which caused his car to stop mid-lap. Norris, visibly disappointed, slumped onto one of the sand dunes next to the track while the rest of the competitors passed under the third safety car of the race.This reliability issue could have a double impact on Norris, as if the damage to his engine is significant, he could face a grid penalty later in the season for exceeding his quota of power unit components.
The Dutch Grand Prix was an action-packed event, where Isack Hadjar, who started from fourth position, achieved his first podium, finishing behind Max Verstappen, who finished in second place.“I feel good, obviously,” Piastri commented after the race. “I controlled the race when I needed to, and it was very unfortunate for Lando at the end. I felt like I was in control and just used the pace when I needed to. It was a different race to 12 months ago, so I’m very happy with all the work we’ve done to improve here, and very pleased to come away victorious.”
Oscar Piastri
The best result for Hadjar before Zandvoort was sixth place in Monaco in a rookie season full of impressive performances for the Red Bull junior team, Racing Bulls. The Frenchman said the result “feels a bit unreal.”“It wasn’t easy,” Verstappen said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace of the McLarens. We were a bit lucky with one of them retiring. Overall, to get on the podium here is a great result. Finishing second I think is a great achievement for us.”
Max Verstappen
George Russell took fourth place, followed by Alex Albon, who climbed from 15th on the grid to fifth at the finish, and Oliver Bearman, who secured sixth place despite starting from the pit lane. The rain threatened to influence the course of the race at the beginning, but it only turned into a light shower. The safety car periods had a much greater impact on the alteration of the order, and the first of the three was caused by Lewis Hamilton, who went off the track from seventh place on lap 23. The seven-time champion took too much speed in turn 3 and lost the rear of his car on the advertising strip painted on the outside of the curve. The damage to the front of the car was extensive, forcing Hamilton to retire from the race on the spot, and resulted in a safety car period while the Ferrari was removed. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, also couldn’t finish the race after a collision with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli at Turn 3 on lap 53. Leclerc had just exited the pits on new tires to defend against Antonelli’s pit stop on the previous lap, when the 19-year-old launched himself to the inside of Turn 3. Unable to brake the car in time, Antonelli hit Leclerc’s side and took Ferrari out of the race immediately. A second safety car followed, restarting the race at the front and presenting Norris with the opportunity to attack Piastri. He was close on lap 60 with the help of the DRS system on the pit straight, but only five laps later his car stopped with smoke coming out the back. The next round of the season will take place in Monza next weekend.“Unfortunately for Lando, we took advantage of his [abandonment], but we made no mistakes,” he said. “The car was on rails all weekend and I am very happy with myself because I maximized what I had, I made no mistakes and I took the podium home. So I am very happy for my guys. [Being on the podium] was always the goal since I was a child. So this is my first step, my first podium, and I hope there’s a lot more [to come]”.
Isack Hadjar
