ZANDVOORT, Netherlands - Oscar Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix to take a mighty 34 point lead in the Formula One championship on Sunday as McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris suffered a smoky retirement in a significant setback to his title hopes.
On a dramatic afternoon at Zandvoort, with Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc crashing out in separate incidents, McLaren were heading for a record-equalling fifth successive one-two win when Norris suffered late despair.
After saying he could smell smoke in the cockpit, the Briton slowed and retired from second place on lap 65 of 72 with visible evidence then seen coming out of the back of his stricken car as he pulled over.
Home hero Max Verstappen finished second for Red Bull with Racing Bulls' French rookie Isack Hadjar taking his first Formula One podium in third place and punching the air in delight.
Had Norris passed Piastri, the gap at the top would have been slashed to a mere two points. Second place would have expanded it to 16 but the blank instead catapulted Piastri to a lead of substantially more than a race win.
With the McLarens so closely matched, and nine races remaining plus Saturday sprints, Norris now faces a major challenge after what could prove a decisive moment in the championship.
"I controlled the race when I needed to, and obviously it was incredibly unfortunate (for Norris) at the end," commented Piastri after the Australian's seventh win of the campaign.
"But I was in control at that moment and used the pace when I needed to."
The ninth career win equalled those of former F1 racer and compatriot Mark Webber, now Piastri's manager.
McLaren did not confirm the exact cause of the retirement, with an oil leak suspected, and engine provider Mercedes also reluctant to assign blame.
Norris despondent
Norris did his best to deal with the disappointment after sitting slumped in the sand dunes near the seaside track with his helmet on.
"I just want to go have a burger and go home," the despondent winner of three of the four previous races told Sky Sports television.
"It was a positive race but it didn't mean anything. I couldn't get past. Oscar deserved it today. Just not my weekend.
"That is life, I just take it on the chin and move on."
ALSO READ: Piastri beats Norris in rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix
George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes with Alex Albon fifth for Williams and Oliver Bearman a career best sixth for Haas after starting last and from the pitlane in a race with three safety car periods.
Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso gave Aston Martin a double points finish in seventh and eighth with Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda ninth and Esteban Ocon completing the top 10 for Haas.
McLaren's lead over Ferrari in the constructors' standings increased to 324 points.
Lively start
Norris started on the front row but lost second place to Verstappen on the opening lap, with the Dutch driver opting for the faster but less durable soft tyres while those around him were on mediums.
The strategy was clear and Verstappen made it stick, passing Norris around the outside of turn two with a big corrected slide into turn three.
Norris retook second place at turn one on lap nine, disproving his own assertion that overtaking was impossible, with race engineer Will Joseph responding over the radio: "Let's go get Oscar".
That proved easier said than done, with Piastri maintaining a solid gap until Hamilton suffered a snap of oversteer and crashed out on lap 23.
The ensuing safety car then bunched the field up again after the leaders had taken cheap pitstops.
Leclerc and Russell made contact on lap 32, with that under a post-race stewards' investigation, while Williams' Carlos Sainz was handed a 10 second penalty for a lap 27 collision with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson.
On lap 52, Leclerc and Mercedes' rookie Kimi Antonelli collided after both had pitted, with the 19-year-old Italian taking the blame and a 10 second penalty. He then received another five second sanction for speeding in the pitlane.
