Lando Norris retired from second place with an oil leak as McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri took a controlled victory in an incident-strewn Dutch Grand Prix.
Norris lost second to Max Verstappen on the first lap, but pressured Piastri throughout after reclaiming the place a few laps later.
Piastri was always in control and Norris was on course for a comfortable second place only for his car to stop in a cloud of smoke with seven laps to go.
The dramatic turn of events at the end of a chaotic race featuring three safety cars and multiple crashes and incidents could be decisive in the private title fight between Piastri and Norris.
The Australian’s seventh victory in 13 races this season, in which Piastri has been the model of coolness and consistency, extends his championship lead to 34 points.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen inherited second place, and Norris’ retirement elevated French rookie Isack Hadjar, 20, to an outstanding first career podium finish.
Racing Bulls felt it would be difficult for the rookie to hold on to the fourth place from which he started after his career-best qualifying performance.
But Hadjar was flawless in the race, calmly fending off Leclerc in the first sprint, briefly threatening Verstappen in the second, and easily holding both Mercedes drivers at bay.
He would have taken fourth had it not been for Norris’ failure, but his podium was well deserved and will only increase his chances of being promoted to become Verstappen’s team-mate next year, especially after another lacklustre weekend from the second Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda.
Russell benefited from Antonelli’s misadventures to take fourth for Mercedes, while fifth place for Alex Albon after a strong race in the Williams has given his team a big boost in their attempt to fend off any challenge to their fifth place in the constructors’ championship.
Behind him, Oliver Bearman was helped by the Leclerc safety car because it enabled him to pit for tyres after a long, long first stint without losing much time, and he fought past Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, which was on old tyres, to take a career-best sixth place.
Alonso also lost out to his team-mate Lance Stroll, who was also on new tyres, in the final laps, but still managed to hold on to eighth place ahead of Tsunoda’s Red Bull and Esteban Ocon’s Haas, both of which had fresh tyres for the closing laps.
It was a day to forget for both Ferrari’s as they both crashed out from the race.
