Deemed by some drivers as a “glorified go-kart track”, Zandvoort once again did not disappoint and delivered one of the most chaotic races of the season so far. From Lando Norris’s heartbreak to Isack Hadjar’s breakthrough podium and Ferrari’s double disaster, Grand Prix Sunday was a reminder of how quickly fortunes can turn in Formula 1. What unfolded before the eyes of the ever-so-passionate Orange Army may prove pivotal as the season charges into its final third. All in all, what a race to come back to after the summer break — and we are here to break it all down.

📊 Qualifying Highlights

The McLarens unsurprisingly dominated all three practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, with Lando Norris edging out his teammate Oscar Piastri by just a few tenths. But the championship leader Piastri was dialed in when it mattered as he clutched pole position by 0.012 seconds from his teammate, setting him up with the best chance to secure his 9th win of the season.

Home hero Max Verstappen had the grandstands roaring but had to settle for P3; starting next to him in the second row was Racing Bull’s rookie Isack Hadjar. George Russell lined up close behind after a tidy session with the Ferraris behind. Further back, Haas rolled the dice on parc fermé changes that sent Ollie Bearman to a pit-lane start. The shocker of the weekend, though, was Lance Stroll’s early crash in the session. Aston Martin showed promising signs in practice sessions, with the Canadian driver finishing as high as P3 in Free Practice 1, but he was not able to participate in qualifying due to his incident.

⚔️ Championship… Over?

After dominating at Zandvoort last year, Lando Norris arrived as the favorite to close the championship gap. But despite showing strong pace on paper, it all unraveled when it mattered most. He missed out on pole and was overtaken by old title rival Max Verstappen on the first lap. He recovered well by re-passing Verstappen early and putting in pressure on Piastri after the safety car restarts, but it did not look like he was challenging for the win in the race at any point. Unfortunately, everything took a turn for the worse on Lap 64, when Norris reported an oil leak on the radio, and smoke came out of his car. The British driver had to retire from the race in a heartbreaking fashion, as he watched his teammate stand on the top step of the podium. This had huge implications on the championship, as the 9-point gap before the break was widened to 34 points after this race. One of McLaren’s strongest weapons has been its bulletproof reliability… so to see it fail in the middle of a title fight was brutal.

However, with nine more races to go, it is still too early to call it “championship over” for Norris. Piastri is most definitely the favorite to win right now, but seeing how clear of the field the MCL-39 is, any future issue for him will most likely result in a 25-point swing in Norris’ direction. That being said, given how calm, collected, and razor-sharp Piastri had been this season, Norris would need to be faultless in the remainder of the races to stay in this fight.

🎉 Isack Hadjar’s First Podium

Isack Hadjar had a perfect weekend in just his 15th Grand Prix start. He converted P4 on the grid into a stunning P3 finish and took home Driver of the Day. The French rookie is the fifth-youngest podium finisher in Formula 1, and he was ecstatic on the radio, celebrating with the Racing Bulls team.

This wasn’t a podium gifted by chaos because of the crazy weather conditions and safety car timings. It was hard-earned: sensational qualifying, good launch, and kept Charles Leclerc and George Russell behind the entire race. Sure, when Norris retired, Hadjar jumped up one place and ended up on the podium. Even if he had finished P4, it was still arguably one of the best drives by a rookie this year.

Despite finishing second in Formula 2 last year, losing narrowly to Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, Hadjar came onto the grid without much hype around his name. He crashed on before the race in the season opener in Australia, but has since bounced back and delivered outstanding results. The race in Zandvoort was exactly what he needed to audition for a long-term top-team future. The big question is whether Red Bull will fast-track him into the senior team next season, second seat curse or not.

💔 A Double DNF for Ferrari

Ferrari’s Zandvoort campaign ended in disaster with a double DNF, just one week before Monza. First came Lewis Hamilton, who lost control of the car and clipped the barriers at Turn 3 on Lap 23, triggering the first Safety Car and ending his afternoon early. Later, Leclerc’s chase to the podium collapsed entirely after contact with Kimi Antonelli at the same corner; Mercedes’ Italian rookie made an unnecessary attempt on the bank and was penalized for causing the collision. Leclerc sat on the grass at Turn 3, surrounded by photographers — turning his misfortune into an impromptu meme-worthy photoshoot.

Leclerc also pulled a bold and exciting overtake on Russell before he retired from the race, causing Russell to pick up some floor damage. The stewards elected to review the incident after the race but could not find sufficient evidence that Leclerc was off the track, and both parties agreed to settle for a racing incident.

The battle between Ferrari and Mercedes does not end there, as for the bigger picture, the Constructors’ fight tightens: Mercedes closed the gap for P2, and Ferrari can’t afford to have both of its cars to walk home empty-handed again. They’ll need quick answers, track-specific upgrades, and some luck heading to Monza, where the Tifosi will be chanting their name.

🟠 Verstappen’s Crazy Overtake in Turn 1

The Orange Army once again brought unmatched energy to the track, and Max Verstappen did not disappoint his home crowd as he maximized everything this weekend with a P2 finish. Verstappen jumped Norris into Turn 1 at the start, lost the spot back on Lap 9 when the McLaren’s medium tire came to life. According to Verstappen, Red Bull opted for a soft-medium-soft two-stop strategy, not necessarily because of the potential rain that never came into play, but because the RB-21 was simply not competitive on hards from the data they gathered from Friday. This “strategy” merely worked at the start, but the Dutchman was slowly falling away from the McLarens after each Safety Car restart. In the third stint, he was falling closer to Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bull than to Piastri.

Norris’ late failure promoted Verstappen to P2—a result that flatters the RB-21 slightly but reflects a good improvement from a horrific weekend in Budapest. The car still looked rough in low-speed corners compared to the McLaren, but the operational game was tidy, and Verstappen gave it all to achieve what he could in front of his home crowd. The four-time World Champion does not expect to win a race again this season, but he seems to be doing everything he can to extract any performance out of the RB-21.

🤯 Chaos in The Midfield

Even though the projected torrential rain never fell, the battles in the Midfield in Zandvoort were chaotic, to say the least. Williams led the midfield drama: after feeling extremely frustrated after Saturday’s qualifying session, Alex Albon recovered from P15 to P5, equalling his season-best finish. His teammate Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, qualified well but suffered from a collision with Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson, which effectively ended his hope of being in the points. The Spaniard was also hit with a 10-second and 2 super license points penalty for the collision. Understandably, Sainz was furious on the radio — it arguably should have been deemed a racing incident, or if anything, Lawson should be the one to take slightly more blame — and the stewards refused to speak to him afterwards.

Haas nailed their strategy gamble with Ollie Bearman; a bold one-stop under Safety Car cover vaulted him from pit lane to a career-best P6, while Esteban Ocon added a point, taking home a P10 finish. Aston Martin looked exceptionally strong in practice sessions, and logged a double-points finish with Stroll recovering to P7, Alonso P8.

🎖️ Winners & Losers

🏆 Winners:

Isack Hadjar – Exceptional qualifying and maintained a good pace throughout the race, scoring his first-ever podium.

Oscar Piastri – Superb qualifying and led the race comfortably, extended his lead in the championship by a huge margin.
Max Verstappen – Bold move in turn 1 and maximized what the car could offer.
Haas – Took a strategy gamble and both drivers finished in the points.
Alex Albon – Salvaged from a relatively poor qualifying result and crossed the line in 5th.

❌ Losers:

Lando Norris – Missed out on pole by tiny margins, lost a position to Verstappen in the opening lap, and had a mechanical failure that led to his retirement from the race.
Ferrari – Hamilton crashed out on his own and received a five-place grid penalty for Monza; Leclerc pulled daring moves but was out of the race after getting hit by Antonelli
Carlos Sainz - Qualified well, but a racing incident ended his race; he also got penalized for no fault of his own.
Kimi Antonelli – Had a decent race up until his mistake that caused the crash with Leclerc.
Fernando Alonso– still finished in the points but was unfortunate with safety car timings and finished behind his teammate.

🇮🇹 Looking Ahead: Monza

We are soon shifting gears to the temple of speed. Monza is a complete 180 from Zandvoort: long straights, heavy braking zones, and the iconic Parabolica corners. Last year, Charles Leclerc went on a daring one-stop strategy, took home his second win in Monza, and painted the town red. Ferrari always introduces track-specific upgrades here, and they mostly seemed to work. They have yet to secure any Grand Prix victories this year, with Hamilton’s 5-place grid penalty, it will be tough to have both drivers fighting for it, but the team is under pressure to deliver a masterclass at their home race.

Championship-wise, Norris must swing back immediately; Monza’s track characteristics give him chances to catch up on some points. Piastri’s job is simpler: qualify high, manage tires, and not make mistakes. Hopefully this iconic track will deliver another stellar race this weekend!

Isack Hadjar's First Podium, Lando Norris' Retirement, Double Ferrari DNFs: What Happened at The 2025 Dutch Grand Prix