Charles Leclerc came home fifth at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday, the Monegasque making up a place from his third-row start but left to reflect on the qualifying position and a late safety car that denied Ferrari a shot at the podium, as Lando Norris took the win at Zandvoort.
Norris, starting from pole, recovered the lead he had briefly lost at a restart to claim his second victory in a row, finishing ahead of the championship leader Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, who held off the two Ferraris for the final place on the podium. The race, the last to be held at Zandvoort, was thrown into chaos on the opening lap when the home favourite Max Verstappen crashed heavily and brought out the red flags. He was unhurt. Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton took fourth, one place ahead of the Monegasque, the pair chasing a podium until the closing laps.
Leclerc’s race
Leclerc made the most of the first start, gaining two places to run fourth, before losing a spot to Oscar Piastri at the restart that followed Verstappen’s crash. From there the Ferraris spent much of the afternoon in traffic, until Leclerc found a way past Piastri on lap 34 with a decisive move through the opening corners, Hamilton following a lap later. A Virtual Safety Car with 17 laps to go let both Ferraris pit for fresh soft tyres at reduced cost, and they emerged fourth and fifth and closing on the podium. But a second Virtual Safety Car, this time as Hamilton lined up a move on Russell, froze the order and ended the chase.
“Our pace was strong, and I believed in it until the very end,” said Leclerc, who felt the timing of the safety car had gone against Ferrari. He identified his grid slot as the main issue. “Our main limitation was probably our starting position, so we have to review and understand where we can improve our qualifying pace.”
The title race
At the front of the championship, Antonelli extended his lead, moving 59 points clear of Hamilton and Russell, who are now tied for second. Ferrari left the Netherlands with 31 points from the weekend, including Saturday’s sprint, though both drivers felt the car had the pace for more. “We had good pace today and brought some important points home for the team,” Hamilton said, while adding that Ferrari needed “to do more” to stay in the title fight.
Monza next
Ferrari now heads to its home race, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, on 6th September, and the backing of the tifosi. It is a circuit Leclerc knows well, having won there in 2019, and one he clearly relishes returning to. “I’m excited for Monza,” he said. “I have really great memories which I will never forget from there, and it’s just a really special place for us, where we meet so many of our tifosi year after year.”
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