In the return of F1 to the Netherlands, the Australian was unstoppable, Hadjar achieved his first podium, and Alpine was left empty-handed
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After the summer break, Oscar Piastri claimed a thrilling victory in a race marked by multiple safety cars, crashes, and an unexpected ending with Lando Norris's retirement, who was running second and fighting for the lead.
The start had shown McLaren's potential: Piastri held onto first place and Norris only briefly yielded to Max Verstappen, who started on soft tires and took a risk in turn 3 to overtake the Briton. Further back, Isack Hadjar maintained fourth place ahead of Charles Leclerc and the Mercedes cars, while Alexander Albon surprised by climbing from 15th to 10th.
Chaos in the first half
The first major shakeup came on lap 23, when Lewis Hamilton lost control of his Ferrari and crashed in turn 3, prompting the safety car to come out. Most teams took the opportunity to pit, with Red Bull taking a risk by fitting medium tires on Verstappen's car.
The restart saw Piastri pull away, with Norris chasing him and Verstappen falling further behind. In the middle of the pack, Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson made contact in turn 1. Shortly after, a Virtual Safety Car due to debris on track and a daring move by Leclerc on Russell added more drama.
Second half with more drama
From lap 40 onward, the battle focused on the McLaren cars. Norris closed to within a second of Piastri, but another safety car on lap 54, after contact between Leclerc and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, changed the strategy. Most opted for soft tires, except McLaren, which chose to stay on hards.
The restart showed Piastri's strength, as he held off Norris while Verstappen couldn't capitalize on the soft tires. Everything seemed set for a McLaren 1-2 until, on lap 65, Norris's engine gave out: smoke, retirement, and goodbye to vital championship points.
In the final sprint, Piastri pulled away from Verstappen and secured a commanding victory. Hadjar withstood Russell's attacks and celebrated his first podium in Formula 1 with the Racing Bulls team, a historic result for the Frenchman.
Colapinto and his best position of the season
Franco Colapinto also had a solid start, as he passed Gabriel Bortoleto and then his teammate Pierre Gasly, moving up to 14th before Alpine ordered him to give up the position.
After his pit stop on lap 20, he dropped to 19th on hard tires, although he regained positions with the subsequent incidents and penalties, finally finishing 11th, his best result since joining the French team.
Colapinto mejoró su posición inicial
Meanwhile, Gasly couldn't stay in the points due to high tire degradation, dropping from eighth to seventeenth place.
Drivers' and Constructors' Standings after Hungary
