Liam Lawson’s chances of a points finish at Formula One’s Dutch Grand Prix were scuppered by a collision with Williams’ Carlos Sainz, as the Kiwi was forced to settle for 12th at Zandvoort.
Having been seventh after a safety car, the Kiwi’s Racing Bulls was clipped by Sainz’s Williams, and lost his left rear tyre, forcing him into an unplanned pit stop that sent him to the back of the field.
And while Sainz pointed blame at Lawson on his team radio, the Spaniard was slapped with a 10-second penalty, and judged to be at fault for the incident - having been required to give room to the lead car.
“It just sucks, sucks for both of us,” said Lawson post-race. “It’s obviously not my intention, but it’s lap one on a restart.
“We had very low grip going into turn one. The rules are written as they are, we all know how they’re written. As much as we sometimes don’t agree with it - I’ve been on the receiving end of it this year, I don’t agree with it as well - that’s how they are.
“For that to be his corner, he has to be ahead at the apex. He wasn’t anywhere near that today, that’s why he got a penalty for it, I’m guessing.”
The result is a frustrating one for Lawson, who was resuming after Formula One’s summer break after points finishes in both Belgium and Hungary, and appearing to have turned his season around after being demoted by Red Bull just two races into 2025.
At the front of the pack, Oscar Piastri sealed his seventh win of the season, to further extend his lead at the top of the championship, having set a new lap record to take pole position in qualifying.
That victory could be decisive in Piastri’s fight for the world title, as teammate Lando Norris was forced to retire with a mechanical issue just six laps from the finish, and lost 18 points. Instead, Piastri now holds a 34-point advantage, with nine races remaining.
The real winner, though, was Lawson’s Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar, who ended a run of five grands prix without scoring a point with his maiden podium - finishing third after qualifying in fourth.
Max Verstappen finished second in his home race, and extended his run of podiums in his homeland. Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda also ended his wait for points that dates back to Imola, after he came home ninth.
Hadjar’s podium means Racing Bulls climb to seventh in the constructors championship, two points behind Aston Martin in sixth. The Frenchman also climbs to 10th in the drivers’ standings, with 37 points.
McLaren meanwhile extend their lead at the top of the standings to 324 points ahead of Ferrari.
Having qualified eighth, Lawson was slightly disadvantaged off the start line, due to the fact the run into turn one favoured the cars on the left side of the track, starting in odd number positions.
That was seen by Williams’ Alex Albon, who climbed five places on the first lap, and rose from 15th to 10th. Lawson kept eighth, as Hadjar kept fourth.
Sitting just over half a second back from Lewis Hamilton and just shy of one second ahead of Sainz, Lawson played it safe, as rain was expected to fall over Zandvoort.
It wasn’t until the 20th lap that the rain truly started to fall, as Hamilton had pulled more than six seconds clear of Lawson, whose own advantage over Sainz had been cut to just over 1.3s.
On lap 23, though, Hamilton squandered his own advantage, and hit the barrier at turn three to trigger a safety car, and had Lawson climb to seventh as he pitted for the first time to swap his medium tyres for a set of hards.
But when racing resumed on lap 27, Sainz and Lawson came wheel to wheel, and both lost any chance for points.
Lawson was able to fit a set of soft tyres, while Sainz was forced to change his front wing to remedy the damage suffered in the collision, but the pair emerged in 18th and 19th respectively.
Having to complete the race on soft tyres, though, did Lawson no favours, even as another safety car was needed when Kimi Antonelli ended Charles Leclerc’s race on lap 54, also at turn three.
For his part, Antonelli was hit by 15 seconds worth of penalties - 10 for causing Leclerc’s crash, and another five for speeding in the pit lane to repair his car.
That safety car allowed both Lawson and Sainz to unlap themselves, before Gabriel Bortoleto pitted to see them both climb another place.
Norris’ retirement saw Lawson climb another place, before the Kiwi also managed to get around Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber on the restart after the safety car, and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine on the final laps.
The Formula One season continues next weekend, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Did not finish: Lando Norris - McLaren, Charles Leclerc - Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton - Ferrari
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.