McLaren claimed a front row lockout in Saturday’s qualifying session, with Piastri on pole position and his teammate Norris lining up in P2.

Piastri had a good launch from the grid, pulling away from Max Verstappen as he overtook Norris for P2 at the first corner. Norris, however, went on to retake the position from Verstappen, as the McLaren duo settled into a 1-2 formation.

Lewis Hamilton hit the barriers at the exit of Turn 3 on Lap 23, prompting the deployment of the safety car for the first time. A flurry of action occurred in the pit lane, with the McLaren team double-stacking their drivers. Despite a slightly slower stop for Norris, both cars maintained position.

The safety car was deployed again on lap 54 when Charles Leclerc crashed out of the race after a collision with Kimi Antonelli in the same spot where Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate in Hamilton, crashed out. This marked Ferrari’s first double DNF of the season and put a stamp on what has been a severely frustrating season for the Italian team. 

With the safety car bringing the pack together, Norris was in a prime position to overtake Piastri for the lead of the race. However, with just eight laps to go, smoke emerged from the back of Norris’ car and the McLaren driver was forced to retire on the side of the track, bringing out the third safety car of the afternoon. Norris’ retirement serves a significant blow to his championship hopes for this season.

Norris’ retirement put Verstappen just behind Piastri as the safety car ended on lap 69, allowing four laps of racing action before the checkered flag. 

Ultimately, Piastri was able to hold his lead all the way to the end as he claimed his seventh grand prix victory of the season and, in the process, extended his lead at the top of the championship to 34 points ahead of his McLaren teammate Norris.

Verstappen was able to hold on behind Piastri, claiming P2 for his fifth podium of the season. Verstappen now has accumulated three wins and two second places at his home grand prix since its return to the calendar in 2021.

Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar converted an impressive P4 on the grid to a third-place finish, marking a maiden podium in Formula One for the rookie driver. George Russell finished in P4 for Mercedes, and Alex Albon finished in P5 for Williams after starting in P15 on the grid.

Haas’ Ollie Bearman finished P6 after starting in the pit lane as the American outfit pulled off an impressive one-stop strategy with the help of the safety cars. Aston Martin took home a double points finish as Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso finished both seventh and eighth, respectively. 

Yuki Tsunoda finished P9 to take home two points for Red Bull, while Haas’ Esteban Ocon rounded out the points positions with a P10 finish. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto missed out on his potential first points of the season as the Argentine finished P11, with Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson claiming P12.

After the race, more bad news struck the Ferrari team as Hamilton was hit with a five-place grid penalty for next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. The penalty was given to Hamilton after he was found to have not sufficiently reduced his speed under double-waved yellow flags during a pre-race reconnaissance lap. 

Ferrari now looks to have a much more fortunate outing at their home grand prix in Italy in front of their adoring fans as Norris looks to bounce back from his disappointing outing in the Netherlands, as the grid turns its attention to the Temple of Speed in Monza, Italy, for the Italian Grand Prix.