Formula One has a fresh young hero and he claimed P3 in Zandvoort

The Frenchman is the youngest ever to stand on a podium for his nation, eclipsing Pierre Gasly’s 2019 achievement! He is now the fifth-youngest podium finisher in F1. The Dutch Grand Prix threw up drama in regular intervals with spinners, crashers and blow-ups in the top teams. But Hadjar overcame them all. His 15-point haul sees him vault into the Top 10 of the driver’s championship table, sharing P10 with Nico Hulkenberg! 

Australian Oscar Piastri, the championship leader, extended his lead even higher at the top of the points table, once teammate Lando Norris’ McLaren smoked itself to a grinding halt on Lap 65. “I think we experienced today the two extremes of motorsport where we were happy on one side; joy for the victory, for McLaren, for the team coming back from the break and for Oscar, a great drive this weekend, and on the opposite side we have the pain, we have the disappointment for Lando. He drove well, he was there in contention to win the race but then we had a problem with the car, something that we are still investigating” said McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella.

Piastri was perfect on race day, in-front of Max Verstappen’s home fans. He led from start to finish for the first time in his career and now heads the Drivers’ Championship by 34 points. Verstappen inherited P2 after Norris’ retirement. 

But if the storyline belonged to a stoic performance from young Hadjar in a car that’s fighting only for P6 in the standings, the drama belonged to Ferrari.

The team that qualified in P6 and P7 on Saturday, were in with a shout for a podium finish as they matched Verstappen, Hadjar and Russell’s pace ahead of them. Then all of a sudden Lewis Hamilton spun out on new tyres and into the barriers after a few drops of rain wet the kerb at Turn 3! 

Next, Charles Leclerc was taken out by an over-ambitious move by Kimi Antonelli at the very same spot. Interestingly though both drivers were upbeat about their race at Zandvoort. They believe they have found a better balance with the SF25.

And what better time to be positive as it’s the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, up next! Where the reds are in the spotlight —always! 

Keep an eye out for ‘the tow’ at the temple of speed.

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Round 16 | Monza | Sunday, 7th September 18:30 | F1TV & FanCode App

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