Lewis Hamilton closes in on unwanted Ferrari record as he crashes out of Dutch Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton edged himself worryingly close to Ferrari’s longest-ever run without a podium thanks to a shocking error at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Brit crashed out at Zandvoort on lap 22, meaning he’s now gone 15 races without a podium, the second-worst record in the team’s storied history.
Hamilton moves ahead of Gilles Villeneuve’s 14, and only Didier Pironi is now ahead on 19.
The seven-time champion’s mistake came as rain began to fall on the Dutch seafront and he went wide at the carousel-banked turn three.
Trying to correct his slip, his right wheel made contact with the tyre barrier on the corner exit, taking it clean off.
“I’m so sorry guys,” he was heard saying on team radio.
Later speaking in the media pen, he was asked what caused the crash and said: “I’m really not sure I’ll have to look back at it.
“As I went up the bank the back slipped out and I couldn’t recover.”
When it was put to him that things had improved overall for Ferrari, he responded: “It was a bit twitchy the car but I think we made good progress this weekend.
“I was catching George [Russell] and had the pace of the cars in front of me.”
To make things worse for Ferrari, teammate Charles Leclerc then joined him in retiring with another crash at the same part of the track on lap 54.
The Monegasque had just exited the pitlane when Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli tried a move down the inside, clipping the Ferrari and taking off one of his wheels.
Hamilton’s retirement was his first by crashing since the 2024 US Grand Prix, 20 races ago.
The 40-year-old was racing for Mercedes at the time, but had already confirmed a 2025 switch to Ferrari in a blockbuster transfer.
Yet things have gone far from well so far, with recent results in particular seeing Hamilton call himself ‘useless’ and advising Ferrari to hire another driver.
Those comments came after he qualified 11th in Hungary last time out while teammate Charles Leclerc took pole position.
Before that, Hamilton was showing signs of improvement with back-to-back fourth-place finishes in Austria and Great Britain.
There is also the caveat that he has twice finished in the top three in sprint races this season, including a win in China in race two.
Overall, though, the picture isn’t looking great when it comes to Hamilton’s chances of winning a record-breaking eighth world title.
The former Mercedes and McLaren driver has struggled throughout the new era of aerodynamic changes, failing to win a race in 2022 or 2023.
However, new rules come into effect next season, which could well reshuffle the pack in his favour.
Right now, though, the order is firmly led by McLaren who were untouchable throughout the weekend.
Oscar Piastri took pole position and led the entire race, with his win boosted even further by teammate Lando Norris’ car breaking down in the closing stages.
That means that Piastri’s championship lead extends to a substantial 32 points.
Joining him in the top three was home hero Max Verstappen and Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar who claimed his first career podium.
Pos Driver Team Race Time Laps Pits 1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:38:29.849 72 2 2 Max Verstappen Red Bull +1.271 72 2 3 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +3.233 72 2 4 George Russell Mercedes +5.654 72 2 5 Alexander Albon Williams +6.327 72 2 6 Oliver Bearman Haas +9.044 72 1 7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +9.497 72 2 8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +11.709 72 2 9 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +13.597 72 2 10 Esteban Ocon Haas +14.063 72 1 11 Franco Colapinto Alpine +14.511 72 3 12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +17.063 72 3 13 Carlos Sainz Williams +17.376 72 4 14 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber +19.725 72 2 15 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +21.565 72 2 16 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +22.029 72 3 17 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +20 Laps 53 2 17 Pierre Gasly Alpine +23.629 72 1 Ret Lando Norris McLaren +8 Laps 64 2 Ret Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +50 Laps 22 0
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