It was a weekend of mixed fortunes at Zandvoort in what turned out to be a dramatic Dutch Grand Prix with bitter disappointment for Lando Norris as he tries to chase down his teammate in the Drivers’ Championship. But it was Oscar Piastri who prevailed to extend his lead whilst Norris licked his wounds, cruelly forced to retire with just eight laps to go, losing out on 18 crucial points.
Norris’ loss was Isack Hadjar’s gain, promoting the Frenchman to third behind Max Verstappen, giving him his maiden podium finish, and in so doing making the 20-year-old the fifth youngest Formula 1 podium finisher of all time behind Verstappen, Lance Stroll, Kimi Antonelli and Norris.
It was also Racing Bulls’ first podium since 2021 when the team was then known as AlphaTauri.
The Visa Cash App Racing Bulls rookie drove flawlessly throughout the weekend, having secured a second row place in qualifying, starting fourth on the grid alongside reigning World Champion Verstappen in just his 15th Grand Prix start.
Hadjar stayed comfortably in fourth throughout the race, despite being ahead of faster cars and managed to hold off both Charles Leclerc and George Russell. With both Ferraris then retiring from the race following crashes, the Dutch Grand Prix was one to forget for the Italian team.
Hadjar summed up his weekend by saying:
“That feels a bit unreal. What was most surprising to me is keeping that fourth place for the whole race. Unfortunately for Norris, we took advantage, but we made no mistake, and the car was unreal all weekend. I’m really happy for myself because I really maximised what I had, made no mistakes and brought home the podium. I’m so happy for my guys.”
The well earned 15 points catapults Hadjar into the top 10 in the Drivers’ Championship and helps Racing Bulls close the gap to Williams to just 20 points in the fight for fifth position in the Teams’ Championship.
Meanwhile, Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Verstappen drove an impressive race on his home circuit, finishing in second place, with teammate Yuki Tsunoda also finishing in the points in ninth, while Hadjar’s teammate Liam Lawson finished in 12th place.
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is a UK-based motoring and travel journalist and editor, a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers and former saloon car racing driver.
Photo credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
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