F1 Winners and Losers from the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort

What a weekend (unless you’re a Lando Norris fan or Ferrari fan like me). There

were plenty of highs and lows over the span of the F1 weekend leading up to the race,

but ultimately who won?

The race start at the Dutch Grand Prix. 

It was an extremely intense race with rain causing a bit of drama, it was a race with a

very unexpected podium result. Crashes saw an early leave for the Ferrari drivers

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, whilst Lando Norris suffered an engine issue

close to the end of the race. Norris now will need to work twice as hard to even stand

a chance at competing against teammate Oscar Piastri.

Let’s get into the big winners and losers from the weekend at Zandvoort.

WINNERS:

Oscar Piastri:

Your first winner must be none other than Oscar Piastri himself. Making the Dutch

Grand Prix his seventh win of the season, it was one for the books for him. He drove

a brilliant race giving almost no opportunity for Norris to catch up. The pit strategy

was near perfect, and even in rainy conditions there was no errors. His weekend

overall was perfection, resulting in an extension of the championship now to 34

points, it will be hard but with plenty of races to go, anything can happen. Piastri

simply needs to maintain his momentum and the championship will most likely

belong to him.

Oscar Piastri finishes P1 at the Dutch GP (Source Getty Images).

Isack Hadjar:

Now was this the podium finisher that we expected? Probably not, but it was

amazing to see him there. With yet another crazy result we saw Hadjar grace us with

his presence on the p3 step. He was a confident driver with plenty of potential and

we knew that coming into the season. He managed to defend against the likes of

Charles Leclerc and George Russell which is a brilliant feat. He is a very strong

contender for the rookie of the year. He has proven his capability so far this season

starting off with a rocky race in Australia to now achieving his first F1 podium (one of

many more I would hope). An honourable mention here must be Racing Bulls as well

who assisted Hadjar to that result, how great it must have felt for them, especially

Alan Permane in only his first race as the Team Principal.

Isack Hadjar with a podium finish at the Dutch GP.

Aston Martin:

In the craziness of the safety cars and results, both Aston Martin cars managed to

sneak into the top 10. They had a great weekend with decent positions in all the practice sessions but struggled a little in Qualifying. There was no need for panic

because they would eventually get to that top 10, scoring double points for the team.

Lance Stroll finished P7 and Fernando Alonso P8. The drivers may have been

frustrated with pit stop strategies, but ultimately, they did pay off.

Aston Martin Duo, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso (Source: Getty Images).

LOSERS:

Ferrari:

This weekend was a tough pill to swallow for all the Ferrari fans. First with Lewis

Hamilton out early due to a crash just after the rain had begun and then Charles

Leclerc later after an incident with Kimi Antonelli, it just was not the race for them.

Before that though, they really struggled to keep up with those ahead including

George Russell and Isack Hadjar, the car was not doing what it should’ve. Once

again as well, late pit strategies were not the best idea and was partially the reason

for Hamilton’s DNF due to wet paint and simple misjudgement. In addition to the

double DNF, Lewis Hamilton was given a 5-place grid drop to be imposed at the next

Grand Prix AKA Monza.

Not the day for Ferrari with a double DNF at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Lando Norris:

Ouch. Any Lando Norris fans here? That was not the race for you guys either. That

unexpected issue was insane, I could not believe we were seeing that and for such a

close title battle. Before that however, Norris was still struggling to make any impact

on the gap to Piastri, with only small movement in the gap. It was going to be a tough

result if he could’ve gotten closer. That engine issue was the major problem with the

gap in the drivers’ championship growing significantly. The battle is still there, but

both McLaren drivers will have to FIGHT if they genuinely want to win it. Remember

it can all come down to the final race, Abu Dhabi.

(McLaren driver Lando Norris. Source: McLaren Media).

Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli:

I think the only way you can explain these drivers’ races are just simply unlucky.

Carlos Sainz was hit early on with a 10 second penalty for a collision with Liam

Lawson, this was going to be a tough race to get back, especially after starting in the

top 10. He had a good start early on, with starting P9, just ahead of Fernando

Alonso, he had done well, even making it up to 7 th at one point. But that incident with

Lawson unravelled all the hard work, dropping down to P18.

As for Kimi Antonelli, he had a quiet race until that incident with the Ferrari. He had

plenty of work to do starting outside the top 10 after just being knocked out by

Alonso. He was working his way up the grid, eventually getting into the top 10. He

would have had a decent weekend if not for the penalties coming his way. With an

initial 10 second penalty for causing a collision with Charles Leclerc and an

additional 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, it went sideways very quick.

He would go to finish outside the top 10, scoring no points and finishing P16.

Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli with tough weekends after some unfortunate penalties. 

With the Dutch Grand Prix over, we head off to one of the oldest tracks, Monza. The

home of the Ferrari and very passionate Tifosi, the Ferrari pairing need a better

weekend than Zandvoort. It will be a fast-paced weekend, with plenty going on.