Oscar Piastri won the 2025 Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen, as team-mate Lando Norris and both Ferraris retired in dramatic circumstances.
The Australian would end the day extending his title lead, as Norris suffered a late mechanical failure late on, causing the last of three Safety Car deployments.
Isack Hadjar would capitalise to take his first F1 podium, with Alex Albon, Oliver Bearman and Lance Stroll putting up superb performances to all score points from lowly starts.
Hamilton crashed out early on at Turn 3, with team-mate Leclerc being taken out at the same corner by Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes.
For Piastri, it was the perfect day, calmly holding his lead amongst the drama, and with his team-mate and chief total protagonist out, left Zandvoort with a buffer in the Drivers’ Championship.
Verstappen snatches second at start as Piastri leads
Bearman began the race from the pit lane after fitting a brand-new power unit. The Haas driver had originally been set to start 19th on the grid, so the change had limited impact.
Hamilton was also flagged by the stewards for a pit-entry incident, which is set to be investigated after the race – the British driver allegedly ignoring yellow flags on his laps to the grid.
Ahead of the race, a dry track awaited with both Red Bull drivers gambling to start on the Soft tyres, alongside Franco Colapinto and Nico Hulkenberg. Both Haas drivers opted for the Hard tyres whilst everyone else started on the Medium tyre.
Verstappen got a great start at lights out and swooped around the outside of Lando Norris into Turn 1.
Piastri comfortably maintained his lead as the Dutchman initially dropped back past Norris out of the first corner but got squirrelly heading into Turn 2.
As he raced off the racing line, he lost the rear end but held position after regaining control out of Turn 3.
Hadjar held onto fourth ahead of Leclerc, who had jumped the Mercedes of Russell. Hamilton remained seventh, Liam Lawson eighth and Carlos Sainz in ninth.
However, Albon gained five places at the start for Williams and into the points. Fernando Alonso dropped to 13th after a poor start. Gabriel Bortoleto also lost multiple positions.
As light rain was potentially set to hit the circuit in less than 10 minutes, Piastri extended his lead over a second to Verstappen. Norris dropped off by three seconds to the race leader by Lap 4.
The race settled into rhythm, with the most action happening at the back. Bortoleto sustained front wing endplate damage in his attempt to take. Stroll, but further towards the head of the field, Leclerc was inching ever nearer to Hadjar’s rear.
Stroll was the first to pit for Hards, leaving him last, with Bearman now just under half-a-second behind Bortoleto, whose flapping front wing caused Bearman alarm as he followed the Sauber.
Piastri led by 4.2s from Verstappen, half-a-second ahead of Norris’ McLaren, but by Lap 9, he was able to use his DRS, and from four tenths back, he took the Red Bull cleanly on the outside of Turn 1.
By Lap 11, Norris was over 2.5 seconds ahead of Verstappen, and just under four behind Piastri, as Leclerc continued to harry Hadjar, leaving Russell two seconds behind in sixth.
Albon was up to 10th, with his team-mate Sainz holding firm ahead in ninth.
Norris continued to chip away at Piastri’s lead, bringing it down to 3.3 seconds into Lap 14. Bortoleto’s endplate started to shed across the track, with Stroll driving over it.
Rain began to fall at Turn 14, as per the expected forecast, but very lightly without detriment to the track. Norris was now three seconds behind Piastri, and over eight ahead of Verstappen.
Hadjar continued to hold fourth place over Leclerc, providing a Red Bull buffer for Verstappen.
Bortoleto’s disintegrating front wing irked the stewards, who placed the Brazilian under investigation for an unsafe condition of his Sauber.
Piastri extended his lead slightly on Norris by Lap 20, the Brit complaining of degradation on the rears.
Tsunoda came in for Hard tyres on Lap 21 along with Colapinto, as the rain began to fall more heavily. Norris set the fastest lap of the race, now 10 seconds ahead of Verstappen.
Hamilton crash causes Safety Car
Hamilton, a second behind Russell but six ahead of Lawson, was stuck in seventh, asking for an undercut over team radio, but the first Ferrari to box was Leclerc on Lap 23.
The Monegasque opted for Hards, and with Hamilton ready to come in shortly, he lost it on the exit of Turn 3, getting on the painted tarmac, sliding into the outside wall and into retirement.
The Safety Car was deployed and both McLarens pitted immediately, followed by Verstappen, Hadjar, Russell, Lawson, with the Williamses also double-stacking.
A disconsolate Hamilton apologised to his team, his Ferrari nightmare deepening further.
The Safety Car ended on Lap 26, with Piastri holding the lead, as Russell, now fifth, dived down the inside of Hadjar into Turn 1, but did not make the place.
Further back, Lawson and Sainz touched at the end of Turn 1, sending them both tumbling back down the order. The Racing Bulls’ left rear completely shedding itself from the car.
Sainz had to replace his front wing, bemoaning that it is “always the same with this guy,” referring to Lawson, who appeared to push the Williams out of room.
Piastri was now two seconds ahead of Norris on Lap 30, as Russell continued to hustle Hadjar. Amid the chaos, Albon was now seventh, Antonelli eighth, and Stroll ninth.
Debris from the Lawson-Sainz collision was lying on the start-finish straight, triggering a Virtual Safety Car.
The VSC ended and immediately, Leclerc sensed an opportunity to pounce on Russell, but the pair touched as he divebombed the Mercedes into Turns 11 and 12.
Leclerc’s Ferrari got two wheels onto the gravel in the process, but muscled by Russell, with slight bodywork damage on both cars in the process.
Sainz was handed a 10-second time penalty for his part in the Lawson clash. Leclerc and Russell’s terse exchange was noted by the stewards.
At half distance, it was Piastri still leading by just under two seconds, with Verstappen two seconds behind Norris in third. Hadjar, Leclerc and Russell were all close to each other in fourth, fifth and sixth.
Tsunoda was desperately trying his best to overtake Bearman for 11th, as Alonso, down in 13th, was begging for an undercut, enraged to be stuck in the midfield after his first stop.
Russell was bewildered when requested to invert positions with Antonelli by the team, due to the damage sustained in the Leclerc battle.
But Russell heeded the call and let his team-mate through into sixth. Alonso was pitted for Hards, now 17th behind the two Saubers.
On Lap 44, Norris was now 1.2 seconds behind Piastri, both on Hards, with Verstappen seven seconds back.
Alonso was still 17th but set the fastest lap of the race, gaining on the backmarkers in front of him, with around five seconds between him and 11th-placed Bearman.
Into 12/13, Alonso managed to get by Hulkenberg, the Aston Martin surely fuelled by anger as he set off in pursuit of his own protege, Bortoleto.
Leclerc and Antonelli come together to bring out Safety Car again
Antonelli pitted on Lap 52, followed Leclerc a lap later. Rejoining just ahead of the Mercedes, the Ferrari was getting its tyres up to temperature.
The Mercedes, sniffing an opportunity, optimistically carried too much speed into Turn 3, and off the banking, was unable to stop his momentum into the side of Leclerc, punting him into the same barrier that claimed team-mate Hamilton.
Leclerc was out, and Antonelli’s front right was destroyed, duly pitting for a replacement. The Safety Car was out again.
The incident was placed under investigation
Piastri got racing underway again on Lap 58, with he and Norris still on hards, with Verstappen now on Softs, immediately swarming all over the back of the McLaren.
Amid all the chaos, Alonso was now up to ninth, with Gasly just ahead in eighth spot. Antonelli was given a 10-second penalty for his role in the Leclerc incident, and then a further five for speeding in the pitlane.
With 12 laps to go, Piastri led Norris by 1.3 seconds as Verstappen began to fall away again.
Lap 65, and Norris complained of a smoking smell on the radio, and with the words barely out of his mouth, the smoke began to emanate from the rear of his McLaren.
He pulled off to the side of the circuit. Out of the race, the Safety Car was deployed for the third time. Just nine points behind before the race, Norris’ title hopes now looked in tatters.
Verstappen was now second, with Hadjar set to score his first-ever F1 podium in third.
With the Safety Car entering the pits at the end of Lap 68, there would be just four laps of racing left. Piastri kept the lead into Turn 1, with Hadjar holding off Russell’s Mercedes in third.
Verstappen lost his chance of DRS, now 1.4 seconds behind going into the penultimate lap. Russell was now over a second behind Hadjar.
Bearman was now seventh on the road, with Antonelli sixth but needing to serve his penalties.
On the final lap, Piastri held his lead against Verstappen and could coast home to the finish, and in doing so, duly took victory.
Verstappen followed home to the delight of the home fans in third. Hadjar did indeed claim his first podium, with Russell fourth, Albon a brilliant fifth, with Bearman taking sixth after starting from the pits.
Stroll was a stunning seventh, with Alonso eighth, Tsunoda ninth and Ocon rounding up the top 10.
With McLaren’s Constructors’ title lead counting over 300 points, Piastri was now 34 points clear in the Drivers’ title, with Norris left to rue what might have been.
READ MORE – F1 2025 Dutch Grand Prix – Race Results
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