Zandvoort, Aug 31: Oscar Piastri steered clear of trouble to win the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday after teammate Lando Norris’ Formula 1 title chances took a heavy blow when his McLaren broke down.
Norris was chasing Piastri late in the race when the British driver reported a “funny” smell in his cockpit.
“I don’t know if I’m on fire or not,” Norris said. Smoke poured from the back of the car and he had to stop.Norris ended the race standing behind a barrier at the side of the track with race marshals and his broken-down car.Norris’ race engineer had tried to console him by telling him how good his pace had been.“Doesn’t matter,” Norris responded. It was the second time this season he’s failed to finish after colliding with Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix in June.Max Verstappen passed the stricken Norris to cheers from the crowd for second place at his home Grand Prix, while Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls took his first-ever podium finish in third.
Piastri’s lead over second-placed Norris increased from nine points to 34 with nine races remaining.
The Australian’s win required him to manage three safety car restarts, holding off Norris twice and then keeping Verstappen behind him after Norris’ breakdown.“Nicely done, everybody, nicely done,” Piastri told the team. “Obviously sorry for Lando for what happened.” Hadjar was lifted off the ground and slapped on the back by a crowd of jubilant team members as they celebrated the squad’s first podium result in four years.
“That was always the target since I was a kid, so this is the first step,” Hadjar said.
Both Ferraris ended up in the barriers in the same spot. Lewis Hamilton hit the wall during a rain shower in another disappointing race for Ferrari.
Teammate Charles Leclerc’s race ended when he was hit by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and spun into the same barrier. (AP)
