Netherlands - Race

After a qualifying in which the two McLarens were separated by only 0.012s, the scene was set for a race to remember. All 20 cars lined up on Zandvoort’s starting grid, but only 17 of them made it to the finish line. Who fell along the way? And which team saw the day unfold in the worst way possible? 

Max Verstappen, eager to put his best foot forward in front of his home crowd, gave it his all since the very first second of the Grand Prix. Before lap one was over, he managed to find a way past Lando Norris and move up to P2. The other change at the front of the group was Charles Leclerc, who overtook George Russel and found himself fifth overall.

On lap nine, Norris managed to reclaim his starting position and, before anyone else could as much as blink, the two McLarens soared away from the rest of the field. It quickly became clear that no one would be able to beat them when it came to raw pace. All that the drivers could hope for was luck: something which Ferrari didn’t seem to have much of. The team pitted Leclerc at the end of lap 22, and just as he was exiting the pits, tragedy struck. Hamilton went into the wall, severely damaging the front of his car. He was forced to retire from the race and a safety car was called in as the marshals began working on cleaning up the mess he’d made on track. This gave the other teams the perfect opportunity to pit without losing either time or position. When the dust settled, Leclerc was back to P6. 

The safety car ended on lap 26 and the “restart” only brought more drama to the already interesting race. Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson made contact, which ended up badly damaging the former’s front wing and causing the latter to lose one of his wheels. Both drivers had to return to the pits and fell to the very back of the grid. Sainz was later given a 10-second penalty for causing the collision. On lap 31 a VSC was called since the debris caused by their unexpected meeting needed to be cleaned up.

Without his teammate, the task of making the Tiflis proud fell entirely onto Leclerc’s shoulders. He was determined to regain the position he had lost after the unfortunate pitstop, and, on lap 32  managed to overtake Russell at turn 12. The Ferrari and the Mercedes made slight contact during the manoeuvre. Russell seemed to lose some of his pace after the incident and was promptly asked to swap positions with his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, who had climbed the field enough to find himself right behind the Mercedes. 

Things were looking up for the Monegasque as he came in for his second stop. He was in a great position to try and rescue Ferrari’s disappointing weekend. There was only one thing that could stop him from a good finish: his notoriously terrible luck. On lap 53, as he was moving past Antonelli, the young Italian grazed the Ferrari, and caused Leclerc to spin out and hit the wall. Just like that, the Monegasque’s race was over through no fault for his own and Ferrari was left with no drivers on track. Antonelli received a 10-second penalty for causing the accident. It was added to the 5-second one he later got for speeding in the pit lane. 

While there may have been a lot happening in the middle of the field, its very front was rather quiet for most of the race. Piastri was leading from the start, and although the various safety cars and incidents significantly decreased the gap between him and Norris, he was under no real threat. Still, the fans hoped that there would be a fight for the lead, even if just during the last few laps. They were denied the pleasure when, seven laps before the end of the Grand Prix, Norris’ car suffered a mechanical failure, forcing him to retire. A third safety car was called in as his McLaren was being moved away from the track. When normal conditions returned, Verstappen tried to make a fight for the lead a possibility, but he was no match for Piastri’s rapid McLaren. 

Once again, it was the Australian who stood at the top step of the podium. Verstappen’s compatriots had to settle for seeing him second. But perhaps the biggest surprise of the race was the person who finished third. After a phenomenal qualifying session and an even better race, Isack Hadjar stood on the podium for the first time in his Formula One career. The day which was a disappointment to so many, ended up being a dream come true for him.

Order of the grid:

1. Oscar Piastri

2. Max Verstappen 

3. Isack Hadjar 

4. George Russell

5. Alex Albon 

6. Oliver Bearman

7. Lance Stroll

8. Fernando Alonso

9. Yukon Tsunoda

10. Esteban Ocon

11. Franco Colapinto

12. Liam Lawson

13. Carlos Sainz 

14. Nico Hulkenberg 

15. Gabriel Bortoleto

16. Kimi Antonelli 

17. Pierre Gasly 

DNF: Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton