Lando Norris retired from second place with an apparent engine failure as McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri took a controlled victory in an incident-strewn Dutch Grand Prix.
Norris was on course for a comfortable second place after Piastri had dominated the race only for his car to stop in a cloud of smoke with seven laps to go.
The dramatic turn of events at the end of a chaotic race featuring three safety cars and multiple crashes and incidents could be decisive in the private title fight between Piastri and Norris.
The Australian’s seventh victory in 13 races this season, in which Piastri has been the model of coolness and consistency, extends his championship lead to 34 points.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen inherited second place, and Norris’ retirement elevated Frenchman Isack Hadjar to an outstanding first career podium finish.
Norris sat on the dunes beside the seaside Zandvoort circuit, helmet on, with his head in his hands after climbing out of his stricken McLaren, as he digested the ramifications of his retirement.
The Briton had been poised for second place behind Piastri, who had controlled the race consummately from pole position throughout a series of incidents, including briefly threatening rain.
That in itself would have been a blow to Norris, who had arrived in the Netherlands after winning three of the past four races.
But his second retirement of the year – following Norris crashing out of the Canadian Grand Prix in June after hitting the back of his team-mate’s car – has dealt a body blow to his hopes.
A 34-point lead is well over one clear victory, and it will be hard work for Norris to claw back that lead on a man who has led the championship since the fifth race of the season in Saudi Arabia and is the model of solidity.
Ferrari’s day of darkness
Ferrari have struggled for competitiveness all weekend and Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were running fifth and seventh in the first part of the race, Leclerc trying in vain to challenge Hadjar and Hamilton pressuring his former Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Light rain began to fall after about 20 laps and on lap 23 Hamilton got off line through the banked Hugenholtzbocht hairpin.
A snap of oversteer sent him even higher than the normal high line there, and he could not avoid the end of the barrier on the exit of the corner. He clipped it and crashed into the wall.
That brought out the first safety car, and Leclerc was involved in the second, although he was not at fault.
Leclerc had been running ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, and when the Italian pitted for fresh soft tyres on lap 51, Ferrari responded on the following lap.
As Leclerc rejoined, Antonelli was right behind him and the Mercedes dived for the inside of Hugenholtz.
The move was not really on, and Antonelli’s front right tyre tagged Leclerc’s right rear, pitching the Ferrari into a crash.
Antonelli was penalised 10 seconds for the incident, and received another penalty for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him to 16th in the classification.
What’s next?
Next weekend brings us the Italian Grand Prix, which is the final European race of the season. It might have been a relatively poor year for Ferrari so far but the tifosi are sure to be fully behind the Scuderia as Lewis Hamilton competes in red at Monza for the first time.
By BBC Sports
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