Lando Norris claims second F1 victory by dominating Dutch Grand Prix; Norris gave up lead to Max Verstappen at start but eased past Dutchman before cruising to victory to reduce drivers' standings deficit; Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari as Red Bull's lead in constructors' standings cut
Monday 26 August 2024 07:14, UK
Lando Norris recovered from giving up the lead at the start of the Dutch Grand Prix to comfortably beat Max Verstappen to victory in Zandvoort.
McLaren's Norris continued his run of poor starts as he failed to keep the lead on a sixth successive occasion from the front of the Formula 1 grid, but passed Red Bull's Verstappen at the start of lap 18 before romping home to win by 22 seconds.
The result sees Norris, who claimed an extra point for setting the fastest lap, reduce Verstappen's lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship to 70 points with nine rounds of the 2024 season remaining.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc drove a brilliant race from sixth on the grid to hold off Norris' McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri for the final podium spot.
Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz was similarly impressive in coming from 10th on the grid to beat Red Bull's Sergio Perez to fifth.
Red Bull's lead in the Constructors' Championship is down to 30 points over McLaren going into next weekend's Italian Grand Prix, with momentum firmly on the Woking-based team's side.
Verstappen appeared to be cruising towards a fourth successive drivers' title after making a dominant start to the season, but defeat at his home race for the first time in four appearances means he has now gone five races without a victory.
Having failed to convert two pole positions earlier in the summer to victory, Norris finally claims his second F1 victory and the dominant nature of his performance with McLaren's latest upgrades package will spark hopes that the Brit can still ignite a title battle with Verstappen.
"It feels amazing," Norris said. "I wouldn't say a perfect race because of lap one again, but it was still beautiful. The pace was strong, the car was unbelievable.
"I could push and get past Max. It was a straightforward race. Tough but enjoyable."
A slow pit stop hampered George Russell as he dropped from fourth on the grid to finish seventh for Mercedes, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton could only salvage eighth after a poor qualifying left him starting from 14th.
Pierre Gasly held onto his starting position of ninth to secure vital points for Alpine, while Fernando Alonso rounded out the top 10 after dropping back from seventh on another underwhelming afternoon for Aston Martin.
After Norris produced a stunning lap to take pole by more than three tenths of a second on Saturday, much of the pre-race attention was on whether he would be able to overcome his starting issues, which had seen him give up the lead on all five of his previous starts from first - three in grands prix and two in Sprints.
Despite Norris saying much effort had been made to solve the issue over the sport's summer break, the getaway was one of his most disappointing yet, as Verstappen almost instantly took the lead with the McLaren suffering from too much wheelspin.
Verstappen, previously untouchable at his home race with three wins from pole, quickly broke out of DRS range and looked well set in the early stages to continue his Zandvoort form.
However, around lap 14, Norris began to close the gap as he expressed confidence over McLaren's pace on team radio, which was in contrast to the reports of tyre degradation Verstappen was making to the Red Bull pit wall.
"From quite early on, from lap six or seven, I expected Max to start pushing and open up a gap and he never did," Norris added.
"From that point I felt we were in the fight. He seemed to keep dropping off and my pace was getting better. "I could get comfortable and push."
The Brit was quickly through to the lead with Verstappen powerless to resist as Norris used DRS to pass on the home straight at the start of lap 18.
It took Norris a couple of laps to break clear, but once he did the result never appeared in doubt as he rapidly pulled away to the disappointment of the passionate home crowd.
By the time Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 27 the lead was almost six seconds, and Norris responded by stopping a lap later to ensure he maintained track position.
He had to wait until Piastri pitted at the end of lap 33 to return to the lead, but from then pulled away at a stunning rate to open a massive advantage.
Norris even showed he had more pace in reserve by setting the fastest lap of the race on his final circuit, taking a further point out of Verstappen's championship lead.
Verstappen said: "You always hope to do better. We had a good start and tried everything we could but it was clear we were not quick enough."
Ferrari began the season as Red Bull's main challengers and appeared to be in contention for the Constructors' Championship when Leclerc won his home race in Monaco in May, but since then the Italian squad have struggled badly.
They appeared to be set for another disappointing weekend as Leclerc qualified sixth and Sainz 10th, but their race pace provided some encouragement ahead next weekend's Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Leclerc got past Perez to move up to fifth at the start and was then somewhat surprisingly on the tail of Piastri by the end of the first stint.
The Monegasque got some fortune as he leapfrogged Russell after a poor Mercedes pit stop, and was up to third by the time the stops were complete as Piastri ran long to offset his strategy.
McLaren's plan to give Piastri fresher tyres appeared to be working as he closed on Leclerc, but the Ferrari was able to hold on to his position under pressure, before pulling away in the closing stages.
Leclerc said: "(I'm) very surprised. I'm not very often happy with P3 but with today's race we can be extremely happy with the job we have done on a difficult weekend for the team."
Russell was in contention for a podium after passing Piastri at the start, but the poor pit stop left him languishing, with Mercedes eventually switching him to a two-stopper as his tyres fell away, which saw him also lose places to Sainz and Perez.
Hamilton, who won two of the final three races before the summer break, was always facing a tough challenge after being knocked out of qualifying and receiving a three-place grid penalty for impeding Perez.
The seven-time world champion passed the cars he would have expected to but was ultimately short of the pace required to catch Perez and Sainz.
Perez's sixth-placed finish was his best since the Miami Grand Prix in May, but the Mexican's inability to come anywhere close to matching his team-mate Verstappen's pace is leaving Red Bull vulnerable in the constructors' standings.
The 2024 Formula 1 season continues with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership - No contract, cancel anytime
