A horrific first-lap crash brought Max Verstappen’s Dutch Grand Prix to a premature end on Sunday, with the four-time Formula 1 world champion walking away unhurt after his Red Bull was sent spinning into the barriers in front of his home fans.Verstappen was running seventh when he appeared to lose control while trying to correct a slide through the final corner on the damp track. His car speared into the barrier on the opposite side of the circuit before sliding back across the track and hitting another wall, scattering debris across the racing surface.The dramatic crash immediately brought out the red flag and halted the race. Verstappen, who had started his final Dutch Grand Prix for the foreseeable future, quickly reassured his team over the radio.“I’m OK,” he said, while also apologising to the Red Bull team.Watch the horrific crash and Hülkenberg’s incredible escape:The heavy impact forced a delay of around half an hour as marshals cleared Verstappen’s wrecked car and debris from the circuit. The incident also produced another frightening moment moments later.Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto spun across the track in a cloud of tyre smoke, leaving teammate Nico Hülkenberg with almost no time to react. Hülkenberg made a lightning-quick evasive move to avoid what could have been a huge T-bone collision.“It was crazy with Gabi, I almost T-boned him,” Hülkenberg said over team radio.Verstappen later admitted that he had simply misjudged his speed on the damp surface after rain before the race.The crash proved particularly painful for the Dutch fans, who had turned out in large numbers to cheer their home hero. The Dutch Grand Prix is dropping off the Formula 1 calendar after this season, making Verstappen’s early exit an especially cruel ending to his final home race for now.
Norris keeps title hopes alive
While Verstappen’s afternoon ended almost immediately, Lando Norris turned the chaotic race into a major boost for his title defence.The McLaren driver started from pole but lost the lead to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli at the restart following Verstappen’s crash. Norris gradually reeled him in before making a daring move around the outside of the first corner on lap 54 of 72.He completed the pass and took the lead from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton later that lap, holding on despite running on older tyres to secure his second consecutive victory after his Budapest triumph.“This fight is still on,” Norris told his team over the radio after taking the chequered flag.“I knew I was not going to get many chances. Every lap I spent behind him my chances got lower and lower,” Norris said of his decisive move on Antonelli.Antonelli finished second, ahead of teammate George Russell, while Hamilton was fourth. Charles Leclerc was fifth, followed by Oscar Piastri, Liam Lawson, Hülkenberg, Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly.Antonelli’s championship lead now stands at 59 points over Russell and Hamilton, while Norris moved into fourth place.
