Oscar Piastri picked up his seventh win of the 2025 season with a victory at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, extending his lead over McLaren teammate and title challenger Lando Norris to 34 points.
It’s the largest gap we’ve seen between the top two in the F1 drivers’ standings this year. McLaren have been dominant all season, and while Norris started strong by leading after four rounds, Piastri took over in Saudi Arabia and hasn’t let go since.
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Norris was nine points behind heading into Sunday but retired on Lap 65 due to a broken oil fitting, widening the gap even further. Before that happened, Piastri had already built up what looked like a comfortable lead anyway.
Piastri stayed in control from start to finish. He covered Norris off the line and managed the gap well throughout, never really looking under threat as he secured only his second win in six races.
Mark Webber suspects there’s more excitement for Lando Norris wins than Oscar Piastri’s at McLaren
Piastri also notched up his first career F1 Grand Slam at the Dutch GP, having led every lap of the race after taking pole position – his fifth of the season. The Australian became the 27th driver in F1 history to achieve a Grand Slam, something Norris has yet to do.
According to RMC Motori, though, there are now signs of division within parts of McLaren. Some staff are said to be ‘fully behind’ Norris in the title race over Piastri, preferring to see a British driver take the championship for a British team, with McLaren still searching for their first title since 2008.
Team principal Andrea Stella has tried to keep things balanced between Piastri and Norris under McLaren’s Papaya Rules of engagement. Still, it’s reported that some inside the team are noticeably happier when Norris wins compared to when Piastri does.
Piastri’s manager and former Red Bull F1 driver Mark Webber has noticed this difference in reactions as well. He says he’s seen several times when there seemed to be more enthusiasm for a Norris victory than one by his fellow Australian. The Bristol-born driver has five wins so far in 2025.
Norris and Piastri have ended McLaren’s lengthy win droughts at multiple Grands Prix
Norris has so far won the Grands Prix in Australia, Monaco, Austria, Britain and Hungary this season, along with winning the Sprint in Miami. Piastri meanwhile has won Grands Prix in China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Spain, Belgium, and Netherlands so far this term.
The Silverstone result was significant beyond just points too; it marked McLaren’s first home victory since 2008. By then, Norris had closed his gap on Piastri down to just eight points.
This season also saw Norris break more long-standing droughts for McLaren: Australia (first since 2012), Monaco (since 2008), and Austria (since 2001). On the other hand, Piastri delivered wins that hadn’t come since China (2011), Spain (2005), Belgium (2012), plus inaugural victories in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Looking ahead , there are still several venues where they haven’t tasted success recently or ever: Italy (last win in 2021), USA (2012), Mexico (1989) Brazil (2012) Qatar Las Vegas remains an open chapter awaiting their first triumphs there as well.
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