The 2025 Dutch Grand Prix was an exciting welcome back to the last half of the season

If there’s one thing you should know, the Zandvoort circuit, where the Dutch Grand Prix is held, is notable for being a circuit that is difficult to overtake, unless you choose to get ballsy, like what most of the drivers did for the 2025 edition of the race.

Add a sprinkle of rain, overoptimistic overtakes, multiple safety cars, and engine-related drama, and you’ve got an entertaining race that’s guaranteed to get sleepy viewers up on their seats.

Let’s talk about Ferrari, or not

As if it were like adding insult to injury, both racers of the Tifosi seemed to have an extra bad weekend this time around. Both drivers had a fairly decent qualifying result of P6 (Charles Leclerc) and P7 (Lewis Hamilton), and a fairly routine start for the race.

Leclerc was one of the first few to pit in on Lap 23. This was in anticipation of the incoming chaos caused by the light rain. Ironically, said chaos was caused by no other than his teammate.

As Hamilton got onto the banked curve, part of his slick tire got on the painted part of the curve that was slightly wet. This caused him to lose control, slamming him into the curve and causing a yellow flag.

He retired from the race, and as if to rub salt into the wounds, he was also issued a five-place grid penalty for the next race for not following double-waved yellow flags during the reconnaissance lap.

As for Leclerc, he actually had a very impressive race, even going for a crazy, yet slightly controversial overtake on George Russell (Mercedes-AMG) that annoyed him. This led to a heated battle for a bit that truly was exciting. Unfortunately, Charles’ momentum after another pit stop was ruined as he was “eliminated” by Kimi Antonelli on Lap 53, after he wasn’t able to turn in and then spun Charles out into the barrier.

A sad end to the weekend, and memes of a dejected Charles (and Lando) sitting on the hill quickly spread across the internet like wildfire. Antonelli received a 15-second time penalty, punting him out of the points and promoting most of the field, and Russell finished in P4.

A fairly good weekend for Red Bull and its junior team

Max Verstappen got his head down at the start of the race, so aside from an amazing save on Lap 1, he really didn’t pull any crazy moves and just had a very steady race to finish in a well-deserved P2.

In a similar vein, Isack Hadjar of RB had a massive turnaround. From crashing out in Melbourne during the formation lap, the rookie has managed to not only qualify in the top five but also finish an impressive P3 without any fuss or drama, all on pure merit. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) finished in P9, marking points for him.

The other drama

Carlos Sainz (Williams) and Liam Lawson (RB) had a tussle on Lap 26 after the safety car pulled in. Ironically, Sainz thought that it was the fault of Lawson, only for the 10-second penalty to end up going to Sainz.

We got another colorful radio message from Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), who was complaining about being sent out into traffic when prompted about the condition of his tires. He finished in P8, behind his teammate Lance Stroll, who finished in P7 despite his massive crash during the qualifying session.

Oliver Bearman (Haas) wasn’t featured prominently in the race, but he had a quiet race that saw him finish in a career-best P6, the first time he’s seen points since the 2025 Bahrain GP.

Of course, McLaren.

Finally, it was going to be another routine McLaren 1-2 finish with Lando Norris following behind Oscar Piastri, up until Lando’s engine blew up on Lap 65. It was a shame, considering how he managed to recover from his two botched pit stops and losing out to Max at the race start.

On the other hand, there’s nothing too notable about Oscar Piastri’s race. Clean, calculated, and this resulted in his first grand slam (Pole, Fastest Lap, All Laps Led, Race Win), and also leads the driver’s championship by 34 points.

The next race will be at the famed temple of speed in Italy, the Monza Circuit this coming September 7, 2025, at 9:00pm (Philippine Standard Time).