Lando Norris beat Max Verstappen in the Dutch driver’s backyard to ignite his hopes of winning the Formula One world championship.
Norris might have feared the worst after he allowed Verstappen to blast ahead of him following another poor start for the Briton here in Zandvoort.
But Norris silenced 105,000 orange-clad fans when he slipstreamed his way back past their hero on lap 18 of 72 before delivering an emphatic win to cross the line 22.8 seconds clear of Verstappen.
Norris’ triumph marked just the second of his career – arriving 112 days after his maiden victory in Miami – to reduce the championship deficit from 78 points to 70 with nine rounds remaining and 258 points still to play for.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished third, one place ahead of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. George Russell finished seventh, while Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton drove through the field from 14th to eighth.
An unwanted statistic lingered over Norris as he headed into Sunday’s race. Despite claiming three previous career poles, he had never led after the opening corner. And history repeated itself on the short blast to the Tarzan bend when Norris looked as though he was treading through treacle as Verstappen breezed clear.
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Norris’ reaction time was the same as his rival – 0.28 seconds – but the second phase of his getaway cost the McLaren man dearly, and Norris was suddenly staring at the back of Verstappen’s Red Bull gearbox.
Verstappen has dominated every edition of this race since F1 returned to the Netherlands in 2021, and the very early stages of Sunday’s affair suggested he might claim his fourth triumph in as many appearances on home soil.
There were confusing messages coming out of McLaren, too. Norris was asked by race engineer, Will Joseph, who he thought he was racing. The answer appeared obvious: Verstappen – the man he beat to pole by more than three tenths – and Norris agreed. “The car ahead,” he roared. Yet, Jospeh’s question seemed to cast doubt over whether McLaren truly believed they had the speed to match Verstappen.
Yet, McLaren have provided Norris with a rocket ship, while Red Bull are simply no longer the dominant force they once were. And, as the lap count ticked down, Norris, who at one stage was almost two seconds behind Verstappen, was occupying the Dutchman’s Red Bull mirrors.
By the start of lap 15 Norris was less than a second behind and in DRS range. Two laps later and the gap was half a second with Verstappen reporting that his tyres felt “numb”.
The TV feed cut to Christian Horner who wore a pained expression on the Red Bull pit-wall as he perhaps sensed the inevitable, and, on lap 18, Norris struck.
The British driver latched on to Verstappen’s tow before jinking to his right at 200mph and making the move stick at the first bend.
Verstappen had no answer and six laps later, Norris was two seconds clear. “I can’t go any faster,” a downbeat Verstappen said.
At the start of lap 26, Norris was five seconds ahead, and when Verstappen pulled in for his first stop, Norris’ advantage stood at nearly seven seconds.
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In the past, McLaren have been accused of fluffing their strategy lines, but they wasted no time in bringing Norris in to cover off Verstappen.
It was not the speediest stop – half a second slower than Verstappen’s – but Norris emerged ahead of the Red Bull. On lap 40 his lead stood at 10 seconds. This was turning into an exhibition.
McLaren’s first major upgrade since Norris won in Miami had delivered the goods and, with Red Bull stuttering, a championship challenge could yet be on the cards.
Who would have thought that when Verstappen won five of the opening seven races? However, this marked the triple world champion’s fifth consecutive appearance without a win.
Norris admitted prior to Sunday’s race that he has not been driving at the level required to win the world title. But following a string of missed opportunities, his commanding victory will provide him – and fans of the sport craving a title contest – that this championship is still very much alive.
“It feels amazing,” said Norris, 24. “I wouldn’t say a perfect race, but after the start, the pace was strong and the car was unbelievable.
“From about lap five or six, I thought Max would push and get a gap. But he seemed to drop off and my pace was getting better so it was a nice feeling inside the car, especially when I got past.”
