ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Lando Norris recovered from another botched start from pole position to beat Max Verstappen at the Dutch Grand Prix, securing his long-overdue second F1 victory.
After losing the lead at the start, Norris waited patiently until lap 18 to get back ahead of the local hero.
From that point on, Norris controlled the race and his lead was a comfortable 22 seconds. His performance was capped by the fastest lap on the final lap of the race.
The win – and the bonus point that came with it – helped him reduce Verstappen’s comfortable lead in the championship, which now stands at 70 points with nine races remaining.
This was Norris’ second win in addition to his triumph at the Miami Grand Prix in early May.
While a close championship battle between the two teams still seems unlikely, the sheer magnitude of McLaren’s speed advantage makes for an exciting final stretch to the end of the year, particularly with two street circuits in Baku and Singapore following next week’s Italian Grand Prix potentially challenging Red Bull.
On the other hand, the constructors’ championship still seems to be completely open between their two teams.
With Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri fourth and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez sixth, McLaren’s gap is now just 22 points.
James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
McLaren’s only regret may be that it could not improve its record even further, with Piastri struggling to keep up with Norris in the other car.
Charles Leclerc pushed Piastri off the last spot on the podium thanks to an outstanding race and impeccable strategy from Ferrari, securing a huge boost ahead of the team’s home race at Monza on September 1.
Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz finished fifth ahead of Perez, who drove a quiet but unspectacular race for Red Bull, his first since Christian Horner put an end to speculation that the team might replace him with another driver.
Mercedes had started the weekend with two wins from the last three races, but faded in the race. George Russell never seemed to play a role in the fight for the podium despite starting fourth, while Lewis Hamilton was always going to have a tough time starting in a poor position after a disappointing qualifying.
Pierre Gasly took an excellent ninth place for Alpine in Oliver Oakes’ first race as team boss, while Fernando Alonso took the last point up for grabs with tenth place for Aston Martin.
