McLaren shocked by Lando Norris’ pace

McLaren driver Lando Norris not only took victory at the Dutch Grand Prix by an impressive margin, but he also left team principal Andrea Stella in awe of his performance. Oscar Piastri, whose troubled race was a food for thought for Stella, was not far behind.

Norris, after losing the lead to Max Verstappen, showed remarkable resilience and driving as he pushed his McLaren closer to the Red Bull’s gearbox. Despite Verstappen’s early advantage, Norris maintained a tight pursuit. By lap 18, Norris had regained the lead, setting an authoritative pace, proving the effectiveness of McLaren’s recent improvements.

His dominant performance continued, culminating in a gap of almost 20 seconds to second-placed Verstappen and setting the fastest lap in what proved to be a standout outing at Zandvoort.

Max Verstappen, who finished second, had problems with his car, saying during the race that his tyres were “numb”. These problems clearly hampered his ability to defend his position against a surging Norris.

Amidst the celebrations of Norris’ victory, the performance of McLaren’s other driver, Oscar Piastri, was not as good but still impressive. Starting off on the right foot, Piastri was overshadowed as the race progressed, his podium potential thwarted by a traffic hold-up, leaving him just outside the podium.

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella said:

“It’s beyond our expectations. We knew the car was good, but today was a nice surprise in terms of speed,” said Stella, praising Norris’ performance. Regarding Piastri, Stella added:

“It’s great that Lando was able to capitalise with a dominant win. It’s a bit of a shame that Oscar got stuck in traffic. He deserved a podium today and could have attacked Verstappen. It didn’t come to fruition but it’s very promising for the races to come.”

He went on to thank his team for the work they have done which has allowed them to improve remarkably since the start of the ground effect regulations.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the men and women at McLaren. They have done an incredible job, not only throughout the season, but more recently for the improvements made this weekend which have put us in a strong and exciting position for the future.”

Other notable performances included Charles Leclerc’s third place finish in a Ferrari and Carlos Sainz’s show of determination, who completed the top five. Meanwhile, late-race penalties and technical problems for drivers such as Lance Stroll, who was penalised for speeding in the pit lane, and Kevin Magnussen, who briefly went off track early in the race, made this an interesting race to watch.

1. Lando Norris – Fastest Lap
2. Max Verstappen
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Oscar Piastri
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Sergio Perez
7. George Russell
8. Lewis Hamilton
9. Pierre Gasly
10. Fernando Alonso
11. Nico Hulkenberg
12. Daniel Ricciardo
13. Lance Stroll
14. Alex Albon
15. Esteban Ocon
16. Logan Sargeant
17. Yuki Tsunoda
18. Valtteri Bottas
19. Zhou Guanyu
20. Kevin Magnussen