Oscar Piastre wins in the Netherlands

McLaren driver Oscar Piastre won the Dutch Grand Prix and thus took a decisive step towards the Formula 1 title, BTA reports. Piastre recorded his seventh victory since the beginning of the season, while his teammate Lando Norris retired from second position due to a mechanical problem a few laps before the end of the race. The Australian recorded another 25 points and now leads by 34 points at the top of the drivers' standings.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) started the race very aggressively and relied on the soft compound tires. He attacked Lando Norris on the opening straight and overtook him a few corners after the start. The Dutchman's aggression almost took him out of the third chicane, but the world champion held his car and remained second.

The expected happened on lap nine, when Norris' tires were already working optimally, and Verstappen was gradually losing speed. The Briton caught up with the world champion on the straight and made an attack in turn number 1, overtaking his rival from Red Bull on the outside. This maneuver came with a four-second lead for Piastre, but Norris immediately recorded a best lap and began to erase his deficit. By lap 20, the first drops of rain were also noticed, forcing the teams to rethink their plans for stopping.

However, they received a gift from Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), who crashed his car into the barriers at the end of turn three. Logically, the leaders Piastre, Norris and Verstappen immediately pitted for new tyres, with the McLaren drivers getting a hard compound, and Verstappen choosing a medium. The safety car retired on lap 27 and after the restart there was no change in the lead. The drivers were chased by Isaac Hajar (Racing Bulls) and George Russell (Mercedes), and the only Ferrari on the track, Charles Leclerc, was in sixth position, but crashed on lap 53.

After numerous safety car entries and subsequent close-quarters of the drivers, everything had to be decided by pure racing speed. Oscar Piastre retired five laps before the end, even retiring due to an oil leak.

Verstappen finished second in his home race, and Isaac Hajar solidified his candidacy for Red Bull's second driver with a strong drive, third place and the first podium of his career. Russell, Alexander Albon (Williams) and Oliver Bermann (Haas) completed the top five, with the latter being the hero of the day after starting from the pits with the new car configuration.