Lando Norris dominated Max Verstappen F1 Dutch GP win after repassing him, as Charles Leclerc climbed up to third.
It was a clean start for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a sunny F1 Dutch GP at Zandvoort to lead the race from pole-sitter Lando Norris who had a clean getaway in the McLaren, but dropped to second with teammate Oscar Piastri dropping to fourth as well.
It promoted Mercedes’ George Russell to third, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc making a good start to be fifth from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. Another gainer was Alpine’s Pierre Gasly to be seventh from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in eighth.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gained a place to be ninth from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in the Top 10, as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton made two places to be 12th. While the drivers at the front stationed themselves, there were movements in the lower half of the grid.
Sainz was the mover after passing Alonso and Gasly to be eighth. The Spaniard had a relatively easy go at the Aston Martin driver, but against the Alpine racer, he went wheel-to-wheel from Turn 1 until Turn 2 when the Frenchman gave up.
It was a close move. Hamilton, meanwhile, was another to make up places to be up to 10th after clearing Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and Stroll. It took a while to clear the German, but a made a quick work of the Canadian, to get onto the tail of Alonso.
He quickly got onto the tail of the Spaniard and passed him for ninth. At the front, Norris started to reel Verstappen in and after couple of laps, he made the move on Lap 19 to take the lead of F1 Dutch GP. He didn’t waste time and started to stretch out a lead.
The strategy game started to play behind when Leclerc had Piastri in his grasps. He tried a move on the Australian for a couple of times but didn’t manage to stick. They went for a pit stop and the Monegasque managed to jump Russell in the process.
Piastri went long in his stint in order to cover both Leclerc and Russell in their fight for third. The mini-battle between Perez, Sainz and Hamilton for sixth saw the Mexican retain track position after their stops on separate laps.
Verstappen pitted a lap earlier than Norris but it didn’t hamper the Brit who had a comfortable lead over the Dutchman. It was Leclerc in third from Russell, Piastri, Perez, Sainz, Hamilton, Hulkenberg and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in the Top 10 after the first stop.
There was an unsafe release noted for Gasly after he jumped onto the pedal with a mechanic on the right side still potentially working on the car. But it was cleared soon. Stroll, though, was handed a 5s time penalty for speeding in the pitlane.
The fight for 10th intensified when Magnussen – having not stopped – had Williams’ Alexander Albon, Gasly, Alonso and Stroll caught the back of him. The main straight turned into a race start when the Dane was getting passed left and right.
Gasly took the opportunity to pass Albon to be 10th as Alonso and Stroll got through the Thai too. At the front of the pack, Norris was comfortable in the lead from Verstappen, but Leclerc started to come under pressure from Piastri, who passed Russell for fourth.
Perez was sixth with Sainz close behind. After couple of attempts, the Spaniard finally made a move stick at Turn 1 around the outside to take sixth. Behind, Hamilton went for a free stop and the Mexican decided not to for the time being.
But Russell stopped for the second after being caught up by Sainz. He dropped to seventh with a good chunk to recover to get to Perez. It was relatively smooth run for Norris and Verstappen in the front, but Leclerc had Piastri for most part in the fight for third.
At the fag end, both Gasly and Alonso managed to clear Hulkenberg for ninth and 10th after a long stint for the German on the hard tyre. At the front, Norris dominated in F1 Dutch GP win by whooping 22.896s margin over Verstappen.
He even took the fastest lap on the final lap in a mighty show from the Brit in the home event of the reigning F1 champion. Leclerc fended off Piastri in a supreme drive to be third and on the podium, as Sainz in fifth made it a good Ferrari show.
Perez was sixth from Russell and Hamilton, as Gasly and Alonso rounded out the Top 10. Hulkenberg hung onto 11th from Stroll, who dropped behind Visa Cash App RB’s Daniel Ricciardo after a penalty, with Albon in 14th after his second stop.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon ended up 15th from Williams’ Logan Sargeant, Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, Magnussen and Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu to round the 20 finishers. The duo were the only ones to finish two laps down, while everyone from Gasly until Magnussen ended up a lap down.
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