Norris clinches second career win at Dutch Grand Prix
- Damian Hall
- Aug 25, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 20, 2024
25th August 2024
McLaren's commanding victory breaks world champion Max Verstappen’s winning streak at Zandvoort
McLaren's Lando Norris claimed his second career Formula 1 victory at the Dutch Grand Prix today (August 25), dethroning Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on his home turf, reports Damian Hall.
The victory narrows the gap to Verstappen and Red Bull in the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, to 70 and 30 points respectively.
As he crossed the finish line, his radio message, “Simply lovely”, to the team captured the moment perfectly.
Starting from pole, Norris initially lost the lead to Verstappen, but fought back to reclaim it on lap 18 and ultimately crossed the finish line 54 laps later with a commanding margin of 22.8 seconds on the nearest Red Bull car.
Reflecting on his performance, Norris said: “I wouldn’t say it was a perfect race because of lap 1, but afterwards, it was beautiful. The pace was very strong, and the car was unbelievable today.”
The Brit’s race highlighted the effectiveness of McLaren’s latest upgrades and a well-executed strategy.
Verstappen, who had dominated at Zandvoort since its return to the F1 calendar, was unable to hold off Norris despite a strong start.
“We had a good start, and we tried everything we could today. I tried to do my best race, and that was second today,” Verstappen said after the race.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured an unexpected podium finish, taking third place after a 6th position start. He said he was “very, very surprised [with my position]. I am not always happy with a P3, but today we can be very happy with this.”
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, who endured a difficult weekend with a poor qualifying session and a grid penalty for impeding, started 14th but made an impressive recovery.
The Mercedes driver finished 8th, achieving the most overtakes of the race. His teammate, George Russell, who started from 4th, could only manage to finish just ahead of Hamilton in 7th.
The Dutch Grand Prix saw a shift in the usual order, with Norris’ commanding victory breaking Verstappen’s winning streak at Zandvoort and reaffirming McLaren’s resurgence as a formidable force on the grid.
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