Lando Norris pulled off a triumphant triumph at the Dutch Grand Prix, staging a powerhouse performance with McLaren at Zandvoort. He regained his lead position after initially losing it from the pole spot in a deft rebound. Outrunning Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who had to settle for the second position, Norris showcased remarkable pace and control to bag his second F1 victory with a gap of 22.8 seconds.
In the following position was Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, while his co-mate, Carlos Sainz, ended in the fifth place. Oscar Piastri, also from McLaren, made it to the fourth position, while Mercedes faced some challenges. Lewis Hamilton admirably clawed back from the 14th place to secure the eighth, whereas George Russell slipped down from the fourth to seventh.
After his surprisingly slow start which allowed Verstappen to overtake, the 24-year-old Norris smoothly eased his tyres into the race. He then demonstrated the impressive advantage of McLaren’s pace, and once he zoomed past Verstappen, he was unstoppable. His unyielding performance left Verstappen and Red Bull helpless, with team leader, Christian Horner, describing it as a “damage limitation”.
The victory was much needed for Norris to keep the championship alive, reducing the gap to Verstappen to just 70 points with nine more races to go. Red Bull will have to focus now on healing and strategising for the next challenges. Verstappen hasn’t tasted victory since the Spanish GP, and it seems like McLaren has gained upper ground.
Norris had earlier criticised himself for not leveraging his two previous pole positions in Spain and Hungary due to disappointing starts. He claimed to have worked on his beginnings during the summer break soundly. However, the reason for his struggle remains a mystery despite his recent win.
Despite the obstacles, he commendably managed to keep his composure and strategically positioned himself to strike back at Verstappen. This marks his maiden win at this venue and a first-time loss for Verstappen on his home turf. For McLaren, this victory notes a significant moment, their first at Zandvoort since Niki Lauda’s win in 1985, signifying the last race before it’s reintroduction in the 2021 calendar.
In another display of McLaren’s strong form across various circuits, their recent performance follow-up from their one-two success in Hungary. They brought to the track their most substantial set of improvements since The Miami Grand Prix, which, in a similar fashion to their showing in Florida, has taken yet another leap forward. This achievement is noteworthy considering the ineffective or sometimes adversarial upgrades employed by other teams.
Whilst Norris and Verstappen had an even start, Norris was slower to speed up, allowing the Dutch driver and Russell to overtake him and move up into the first and third positions respectively. Verstappen was quick to seize the opportunity and established a one-second lead within the first three laps whilst Norris focused on tyre management in the initial stage. Around the ninth lap, Norris trailed just over a second behind Verstappen.
By lap 13, Norris increased his speed and began to close in on Verstappen, showcasing the strong form of his McLaren that came through in the qualifying rounds. By the 14th lap, he was within DRS range and by lap 17, Norris was tailgating Verstappen closely.
Verstappen complained of insufficient grip, and Norris took advantage of this by clocking a significantly fast lap and overtaking into pole position on the 18th lap with the help of DRS. Norris then managed to pull a gap, and by lap 25, he was already four seconds ahead of Verstappen.
On lap 28, Verstappen made a pit stop to change to hard tyres. McLaren responded immediately and pitted Norris on the next lap, enabling him to retain his position in front of Verstappen. This was their only pit stop throughout the race and whilst McLaren kept Piastri on the track for longer hoping to capitalise on tyre durability in the latter stages of the race.
Piastri completed his pit stop on lap 34 and emerged in fifth position, but it was clearly Norris’ day. By lap 36, he had a seven-second lead to Verstappen and consistently delivered fast laps, often half a second faster than his competitors.
Piastri demonstrated his speed by overtaking Russell for the fourth position in the 40th lap as Norris impressively increased his lead to a time difference of 15 seconds by the 54th lap. Displaying sheer confidence, he concluded the race by recording the quickest lap in his last circuit. Apart from an initial issue, his performance was nearly perfect, resulting in his most dominant victory, and proving his eligibility as a potential title candidate.
For Red Bull, Sergio Pérez secured the sixth spot, while Pierre Gasly from Alpine and Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin finished in the ninth and tenth positions, respectively.