Oscar Piastri wins Dutch GP after Lando Norris breaks down in a key moment for F1 title race

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) — Lando Norris' chances of beating Oscar Piastri to victory in the Dutch Grand Prix went up in smoke. His title chances are at risk too.

Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday after teammate Norris' McLaren broke down in what could prove a turning point in the title race.

Norris was chasing Piastri late in the race when the British driver reported a “funny” smell in his cockpit.

“I don't know if I'm on fire or not,” Norris said. Smoke poured from the back of the car and he had to stop.

Norris ended the race standing behind a barrier at the side of the track with race marshals and his broken-down car.

Norris’ race engineer had tried to console him by telling him how good his pace had been.

“Doesn’t matter,” Norris responded. It was the second time this season he's failed to finish after colliding with Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix in June.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen passed the stricken Norris to cheers from the crowd for second place at his home Grand Prix, while Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls took his first-ever podium finish in third.

Piastri’s lead over second-placed Norris increased from nine points to 34 with nine races remaining.

The Australian's win required him to manage three safety car restarts, holding off Norris twice and then keeping Verstappen behind him after Norris' breakdown.

“Obviously it was incredibly unfortunate for Lando at the end,” Piastri said. “But it felt like I was in control of that (race) and used the pace that I needed to.”

Verstappen had received a hug from King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands before the race and his second place was popular with the orange-clad Dutch fans. It was Red Bull's first podium finish in a Grand Prix, rather than a sprint race, under new team principal Laurent Mekies following the firing of Christian Horner.

Hadjar was lifted off the ground and slapped on the back by a crowd of jubilant team members as they celebrated Racing Bulls' first podium result in four years.

“That was always the target since I was a kid, so this is the first step,” Hadjar said. “My first podium and hopefully much more.”

Both Ferraris ended up in the barriers in the same spot. Lewis Hamilton hit the wall during a rain shower in another disappointing race for Ferrari.

Teammate Charles Leclerc’s race ended when he was hit by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and spun into the same barrier. Like Norris, Leclerc ended up watching the race trackside, in his case from atop a sand dune.

George Russell was fourth for Mercedes following an earlier coming together with Leclerc that was to be investigated after the race.

Alex Albon was fifth for Williams and Oliver Bearman a career-best sixth for Haas after benefiting from the chaos ahead and two time penalties for Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. Lance Stroll took seventh for Aston Martin ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso.

Yuki Tsunoda was ninth for the embattled Red Bull driver’s first points since May, with Esteban Ocon 10th in the other Haas.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia leads the race in front of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands during the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia wins the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia in action during the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain, right, talks to McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia after the qualifying session ahead of the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort racetrack in Zandvoort, Netherlands, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)