Oscar Piastri took the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort with an impeccable execution, overclocking his lead on the championship. The victory created a 34 point lead for him and furthered his strong statement on the title.

The race was dramatic. Lando Norris of Formula 1 Team McLaren , who was Piastri’s closest challenging driver, had to retire late with a electrical malfunction. The retirement allowed Piastri to take the lead and he cleaned final laps to seal the victory.

Max Verstappen who is with Red Bull struggled and was able to get second. Rookie Isack Hadjar shocked all comers by claiming third place for Racing Bulls-their first ever podium, and only the second rookie podium this season , attracting massive cheers in the paddock quarters. George Russell finished fourth and Alex Albon was fifth as they made a decent Williams showing.

Ferrari just couldn’t seem to clean it up. Light rain started falling on lap 23 and at Turn 3, Lewis Hamilton crashed putting out the safety car throwing off more than a few strategies. Charles Leclerc faced a similar fate and ran into Mercedes neophyte Kimi Antonelli and failed the same night. The two completed DNFs, a bitter pill for Scuderia to swallow.

Midfield drama heightened the drama. Kimi Antonelli received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lens and a bonus of ten seconds for collision with Leclerc. Early in the race, Carlos Sainz was charged with an illegal contact with Liam Lawson which added a ten-second reg of his own to the mix and made the racing that much more intricately as the pack was thrust into turmoil.

McLaren’s performance highlighted the closeness of Formula 1. Norris lost a second place and the building concern than resulted in his later elimination. Piastri, on the other hand, had no mistakes, remained cool under varying conditions and went late hitting the targets when it was most important.

Hadjar rookie made sport fans’ Driver of the Day choice for his desperate climb up the podium. Southern’s calamity aside, it’s the quiet authority and steady hum that makes Piastri truly impressive in reinforcing him as the obvious champion’s leader of the field. The Dutch Grand Prix was a positive spectacle filled with excitement and with the race giving way to the dynamic drastically altering the course of the season with much twist filled for the races to follow.