McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri prepares on the grid before the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
by F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth
BEIJING, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- McLaren's Oscar Piastri seized the initiative in the 2025 Formula 1 championship race with victory in Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix, as teammate Lando Norris retired from second place with an engine failure.
With McLaren in typically dominant form all weekend long, Piastri drew first blood on Saturday by edging Norris to pole position, and the Briton's hopes of overhauling his teammate were not helped when Max Verstappen barged ahead of him on lap 1.
Though Norris retook second place from Verstappen on lap 9, the Briton never seriously threatened Piastri, who dealt comfortably with three Safety Car restarts and several laps of light drizzle, and had the race under control even before Norris stopped with an apparent power unit issue on lap 63 of 72.
"It feels good. I controlled the race when I needed to, and obviously it was incredibly unfortunate for Lando at the end," said Piastri, who led from start to finish for the first time in his F1 career, and whose championship lead over Norris now stands at 34 points.
"But I felt like I was in control and just used the pace when I needed to. That was a bit of a different race to 12 months ago, so very happy with all the work we've done to try to improve around here, and very satisfied to come out on top."
"There were a couple of Safety Cars that spiced it up a little bit and we weathered it all, so I'm very proud of the whole team. It wasn't just myself that improved to get here, it was the whole team around me and without them, none of this possible. It's a big team effort."
Behind Piastri, Red Bull's Verstappen was unable to score his fifth successive win at Zandvoort, but his second place was still a popular result with the partisan Dutch crowd, with Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar taking an excellent third place for his first podium finish.
George Russell took fourth for Mercedes, with Alex Albon doing well to rise from 15th on the grid to finish fifth.
Ollie Bearman used the Safety Car periods to good effect to finish a career-best sixth after having started from the pit lane, with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso ensuring a double points finish for Aston Martin with seventh and eighth respectively.
Verstappen's teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished ninth, and the second Haas of Esteban Ocon rounded out the top ten.
But it was a disastrous day for Ferrari, whose drivers both retired after accidents at the banked Turn 3. Lewis Hamilton triggered the first Safety Car period when he slid into the outer barrier on lap 23, while Charles Leclerc came to grief at almost the same spot on lap 53 when he was tagged by Kimi Antonelli, who took a 15-second penalty for his part in the incident.
The 16th round of the 2025 F1 World Championship is next weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza. ■
McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri lifts the trophy on the podium after the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri crosses the finish line during the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Race Winner McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri (C) celebrates with second-placed Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen (L) and third-placed Racing Bulls' French Driver Isack Hadjar on the podium after the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Race Winner McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri (2nd L) poses with second-placed Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen (1st L) and third-placed Racing Bulls' French Driver Isack Hadjar (2nd R) on the podium after the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Racing Bulls' French Driver Isack Hadjar (R) reacts on the podium after the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Racing Bulls' French Driver Isack Hadjar (4th R, front) celebrates his 3rd place with team members after the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Bao Di/Xinhua)
Drivers start during the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Racing Bulls' French Driver Isack Hadjar crosses the finish line during the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Drivers start during the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen reacts after the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen reacts after the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Mercedes' Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli (front) pits during the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
Red Bull Racing's Dutch driver Max Verstappen pits during the 2025 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort Circuit in Zandvoort, near Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on Aug. 31, 2025. (Photo by Qian Jun/Xinhua)
