In front of packed stands, Oscar Piastri claimed victory in the penultimate edition of the Dutch GP in Zandvoort. The Australian McLaren driver thereby strengthens his leading position in the World Championship standings. Lando Norris drops out in the final phase due to technical issues, promoting Max Verstappen to second place. Surprisingly, Isack Hadjar also achieves his first Formula 1 podium. The 2025 edition will go down in history as a true spectacle…
Here is a bird’s eye view of the Dutch GP:
ROUND 1/73: Max Verstappen makes a lightning start from P3 and tries to overtake Lando Norris on P2 on the outside in the Tarzan corner. He takes – on softs – all the risks in the world, which ultimately pays off. In turn 2, he slips past and keeps the RB21 impressively out of the wall. Oscar Piastri maintains the lead.
ROUND 9/73: As the first rain shower is announced, Norris makes up for his slower start. He overtakes Max Verstappen in the Tarzan corner and reclaims P2. Like Piastri, Norris also quickly distances himself from Verstappen.
ROUND 14/73: The first drops fall, but it’s not much to speak of. Meanwhile, Gabriel Bortoleto and Lance Stroll have collided. The latter drives over the carbon left on the asphalt as a reminder of the incident a lap later.
Lewis Hamilton Makes a Mistake
ROUND 23/73: Max Verstappen is still third, with a solid two-second lead over Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls. Verstappen’s deficit to both McLarens is significant and telling: over eighteen seconds behind Piastri and fifteen seconds behind Norris. But then there’s Lewis Hamilton, who parks his Ferrari against the wall coming out of the Hugenholz corner. Safety car!
ROUND 27/73: At the restart of the race, the field is neatly bunched up again and the rain has stopped. Max Verstappen has now swapped his tyres for mediums, both McLarens have also made a stop and are now on the hard compound. Verstappen deliberately opts for a different strategy in an attempt to force something.
ROUND 29/73: Liaw Lawson and Carlos Sainz collide. The former ends up with a flat tyre, the latter with a damaged front wing. The Spanish Williams driver is clearly not amused: “This guy is so stupid, it’s always the same,” he grumbles over the radio. Yet, he is the one who receives a ten-second time penalty from the stewards.
Leclerc’s Gravel Run Past Russell
LAP 32/73: Charles Leclerc is locked in a fierce battle with George Russell for P5. Both cars make contact. The Ferrari driver is forced through the gravel but emerges victorious to the loud cheers of the crowd. Russell appears to be not very popular in Zandvoort…
LAP 43/73: Lando Norris is closing in on teammate Oscar Piastri and is almost within DRS range. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen is more than six seconds behind the Australian race leader. Behind Verstappen are Hadjar, Leclerc, Antonelli, Russell, Albon, Stroll, and Esteban Ocon. Thirty laps to go…
LAP 53/73: Another safety car! Kimi Antonelli makes a big mistake and with too much understeer, hits the side of Leclerc’s Ferrari in the Hugenholz corner. The race is over for the Monegasque, but Antonelli manages to continue. Verstappen takes advantage of the situation to swap his softs for a new set. Antonelli is given a ten-second time penalty.
LAP 58/73: And we’re racing again! Max Verstappen tries to stay close to the McLarens, but doesn’t get a chance to attack. The battle for victory is expected to be between Piastri and Norris. Max Verstappen is the best of the rest.
First Podium for Isack Hadjar
LAP 65/73: Smoke in the cockpit of Lando Norris! The McLaren comes to a halt and Max Verstappen is handed second place. And we have another safety car! Isack Hadjar is eyeing his first podium. Norris mourns in the dunes…
LAP 73/73: Oscar Piastri is flagged as the winner of the Dutch GP 2025, dealing a huge mental blow to Lando Norris, who scores zero points, in the first race after the summer break. Max Verstappen can be satisfied with P2 and Isack Hadjar has secured his very first F1 podium. He’ll be celebrating with something other than a Red Bull tonight…
