NORRIS WINS HOME RACE AS HULKENBERG CLAIMS FIRST EVER PODIUM IN FORMULA ONE

Formula One arrived in it's birthplace to mark the halfway point in this fantastic season that is unfolding in front of us. It was home hero Lando Norris who has won in very difficult and changing conditions similar to his win in the season opener in Australia. Current Championship leader Oscar Piastri finishes second to hold onto the onto the lead of the title race. But the story of the day goes to third placed Nico Hulkenberg who after two hundred and thirty nine races finally achieves his first Formula One podium in what has been a long time coming for a driver who has been so unlucky across his career.

It was pole sitter and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen who lead into turn one ahead of the two McLaren's of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in third.

Liam Lawson in his Racing Bull has gone off and there are yellow flags, initially Lawson is able to crawl around slowly on the side of the track. But as they cross the line for lap two the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) is deployed and Lawson is the first retirement of the race. He made contact with the Haas of Esteban Ocon who reported damage. A struggling Franco Colapinto was forced to retire after pitting and having a gear problem which forced Alpine retire him in what could he his final race for Alpine.

After two laps we had already lost Lawson and Colapinto.

We get going again on lap four but not for long as the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto has crashed, he pitted for mediums under the VSC and the Brazilian driver has spun out but has managed to get going again. And similar to Lawson a few laps earlier he carries on and then pulls over and is out of the car.

Bringing out a second VSC on lap five.

Lap seven we see green once more and Verstappen leads from Piastri, Norris is third and Lewis Hamilton in fourth with Pierre Gasly in his Alpine rounding out the top five.

It was only eight laps that Verstappen could keep his lead of the race as... PIASTRI PASSES VERSTAPPEN DOWN THE HANGAR STRAIGHT FOR THE LEAD OF THE RACE!

The rain had been light to none but as lap eleven arrived so did the rain. And on lap fourteen the Safety Car is deployed because of the conditions.

We go green four laps later with Piastri keeping hold of the lead from Verstappen, Norris still third with Lance Stroll in fourth and Nico Hulkenberg in fifth. But the drama continues further down the grid as the Racing Bull of Isack Hadjar has ended up in the wall and is very much out of this race after contact with Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes in what can only be an accident in these conditions. The puts out the Safety Car once more.

We get back racing on lap twenty two as Piastri slams the gas pedal so does Max but maybe a little too much for the reigning World Champion as VERSTAPPEN SPINS ON THE RESTART! HE DROPS TO NINTH FROM SECOND!

The fourth retirement came in the form of Kimi Antonelli who is told to retire the car on lap twenty three. This is from the damage in the contact with Hadjar.

Piastri was given a ten second penalty for the Safety Car infringement - after the lights went out on the Safety Car Piastri as the leader becomes the defacto SC but he decelerates quite quickly and catches Max off guard who passes him.

And a career changing move came on lap thirty five as the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg passes Lance Stroll for third place!

The story of the day of course is Nico Hulkenberg taking his first podium in. F1 after over two hundred races and takes Sauber's first podium since Japan 2012 with Kamui Kobayashi and Nico is the first German driver on the podium since Sebastian Vettel in Baku 2021.

The next race is the Belgian Grand Prix.

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