McLaren can only hit itself in Formula 1. In a sense, the racing team did the one on Sunday at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in Zandvoort. A few laps before Oscar Piatri was the first to finish, Lando Norris, the first pursuer of the Australian on the Dunner’s course on the North Sea and in the driver’s Championships, had to park his mcLaren because of a defect. World Champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) “inherited” second before the second surprise of the day: For the first time in his career, the Formula 1 novice was Isack Hadjar (Racing Racing Bulls) third. Pech for Norris gives Piatri a rich enlargement of his advantage in the fight for the title. After 15 out of 24 races, it leads with 34 points in front of Norris. Ferrari has a lot to repair a week before the race in Monza after two accidents. Piatri checked the big party from the first to the last round on Sunday. That was predictable. But Verstappen tried everything to refute the forecast. With his choice of tires, with his willingness to take risks. With soft pneus, the four -time world champion was more liable. In 4.93 seconds he accelerated to 200 kilometers per hour and passed the three of the three of the start to attack Piatri. But on the outside in the Tarzan curve he lost the lead again, looking for the first steep curve of the course to leave Norris behind with a very late brake maneuver in front of the Hugenholzbocht. The Red Bull broke out on the sandy asphalt. Verstappen caught him again at lightning speed and, as second behind Piatri, shot from the steep curve to the first hill. A flanging success. Eight rounds later Verstappen could no longer withstand the pressure of the British behind him, the soft tires subsided. Norris pulled – started with the medium -hard rubber, slightly past. In this phase, the champion turned out to be a help for Piatri, as a brake. The duel for the position of the first hunter had cost Norris a lot of time. After ten out of 72 laps he was behind his teammate after ten out of 72 rounds. Hamilton asks for four seconds at apology? That is enough in the identical car to keep someone at a distance. If not a single error snows down if there is no such thing as the sky falls, which many want to do afterwards. But did the event come out of the blue? Lewis Hamilton was seen in the Hugenholtzbocht a piece of the front wing. On foot. The damaged Ferrari was behind him. In a delayed radio message, the recordman was heard at an apology with a steamed atmosphere: “Sorry.” It was the first racing crash of the seven -time world champion in the service of Scuderia. But it fits into the picture of the unfortunate liaison so far. Hamilton does not get the curve – and now has to start five starting places further back to punishment in Monza. Because a slight drizzle started at the same time, his mishap seemed to act as a tension factor. But the Formula 1 teams look very precisely, hear and analyze the weather forecast. With the general, fixed tire change, everyone stayed with slicks. A few drops do not throw a racing car from the track. And so the second, this time “flying” start began a few rounds later with a reduction in the outstanding distances to a wagon length, but in almost the same order as before the accident of Hamilton: Piatri continued to drive ahead with Norris and Verstappen. But half of the race both followed him, so the Dutch fans, including King Willem-Alexander on the route, wished it in striking distance. So it looked. In truth, a McLaren of the 2025 year can only follow a McLaren. Anyway. The race stall tour, after Vibapens grew in four rounds to 3.5 seconds, could not be played in any game. “You have to show it on the track,” Norris racing engineer let the English know. A tedious business, round by round a tenth. Or to stop at the breath when Charles Leclerc attacks the Mercedes pilot Russell (32nd round). A duel on bending and breaking. The Ferrari almost completely leaves the route during the crowding -out struggle. But Leclerc stays on the gas. “He must not offer a gap here,” the Monegasse told him looking back at the gap he used. Russell sees a rule violation. The dispute is negotiated by the route commissioners after the race. Only the damage to the Englishman is certainly. He has to make room for teammate Kimi Antonelli behind him. After full contact, his silver arrow is no longer in the constitution to keep the pace. Antonelli is supposed to chase Leclerc. It can be said that the young Italian “killed” his opponent when he moves into the Hugenholtz-Steilkurve in the 53rd round with too much pace and wants to dive underneath the Ferraris. A bold maneuver. The centrifugal force puts an end to him. With subordinate, the silver arrow slips into the Ferrari, which loses the shape and socket to a ribbon. Antonelli gets away with a ten-second penalty, Norris remains the 16. Hadjar remains the third and last chance after the clean-up work and the slow tour behind the safety car: 58th round, second flying start just behind Piatri. The Australian proves good nerves again. Again Verstappen quickly loses the connection, even though again with soft tires. But the surprise does not fail. Smoke at the rear of Norris ’terminates the failure in 66. The fourth restart appears like a copy of the others. Nevertheless, there is a second surprise. The Frenchman Isack Hadjar finishes as third in the racing car racing Bulls in the racing car. Verstappen’s racing team had to give up several times in the head of the chief pilot. But he also won something: Hadjar is almost pushing for promotion. “He didn’t make any mistakes under strong pressure,” says Red Bull’s sports director Helmut Marko, “that was very impressive.” A cockpit at Red Bull will probably be released next year.
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