Norris earns untouchable victory on Verstappen’s home soil

Crossing the line with the largest winning margin of the season, Lando Norris secured his second-ever F1 victory at the Dutch Grand Prix to spoil home hero Max Verstappen’s milestone race.

With a near-perfect run in the Netherlands, Norris was rarely in doubt as the sole contender to seal the 25 points.

The #4’s track record on failing to maintain the lead into Turn 1 did continue, however, with both Norris and Oscar Piastri losing out to wheel-spin as the five lights shut off. 

The eventual race winner’s teammate didn’t have the race he was hoping for, being relegated to P4 after George Russell passed him down the inside of the first turn.

Piastri stuck within DRS range of the Mercedes, however, Russell called upon Carlos Sainz’s Singapore 2023 tactics, pushing the McLaren driver back into Charles Leclerc’s grasp to give himself a sigh of relief.

Catching the Australian off guard, Russell shot off into the distance, leaving Piastri unassisted in his defence over the Ferrari driver. 

Leclerc had a quick look down the inside of Turn 1, holding off until Lap 23 where he took another dig at a pass through the first corner. 

His move around the outside of the same corner wasn’t quite possible despite running three-tenths back on the #81 at one point, seeing him peeling into the pitlane instead. 

Given the hurry up, the McLaren pit wall informed Piastri that he would be extending ‘Plan A’ by five laps, inheriting his way into the race lead as his competitors made their first tyre changes.

Piastri took his first and only stop of the race on Lap 33, swapping out the battered medium compound for the favourable hard compound as he rejoined in P5.

Over 20 seconds off his race-leading teammate and 3.2 seconds behind his closest competitor, Piastri built temperature into his tyres until he was ready to strike on the driver ahead on Lap 40.

That driver was Russell once again, who became Piastri’s first victim into the sweeping first corner.

Leclerc was the next target sitting in the final podium place four seconds down the road. 

The 9-lap tyre offset was noticeable at first, however, the McLaren’s pace soon dropped off, an issue that was compounded as the battlers made their way through the back-markers. 

With 20 laps remaining, the Australian lost his DRS advantage and was forced to stare at the rear of the SF-24 for the remainder of the race. 

He crossed the line 27.3 seconds behind his teammate, collecting 12 points to reduce the margin between Red Bull and McLaren to 30 points in the constructors’ championship.

The 12 points earned also mean Piastri is the highest points scorer over the last five races, adding 92 points to his now-179-point total.

Oscar Piastri battled with Charles Leclerc during the Dutch GP. Image: Andy Hone / LAT Images.

As for the second-running Australian, Daniel Ricciardo’s race was a stagnant one that saw him taking the chequered flag in P13, however, instantly inheriting P12.

Off the line, Ricciardo’s launch was solid, however, he found himself losing out in a close battle with Nico Hulkenberg.

Ricciardo also lost out to Lewis Hamilton, moving him into P15 as the early laps ticked by.

Up until Lap 30, Ricciardo found himself eyeing down the bright green rear of Valtteri Bottas’ C44, hopeful of passing the Fin while running less than a second back.

He wasn’t able to, instead retreating to the pitlane for his solo pitstop of the 72-lap race.

Ricciardo rejoined the Dutch Grand Prix behind Lance Stroll, needing to make the most of his tyres as he clawed his way back from P17.

With the order ahead reshuffling, Bottas had returned to Ricciardo’s sights, allowing Ricciardo to redeem his earlier efforts with a successful overtake into Turn 1 at the halfway mark of the race.

Carrying a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane, Stroll was the driver ahead. 

It remained that way until the end of the race, with the interval between the two fluctuating in Ricciardo’s favour as they took the chequered flag.

As a result, P12 was Daniel Ricciardo’s to keep in Zandvoort — his second-best result at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Beyond the Australians, the 72-laps were largely uneventful aside from a few focused battles within the top ten.

While the two-man duel for the lead was non-existent beyond the first few laps, the opening kilometres had their fair share of entertainment. 

Max Verstappen thrilled the Orange Army as he took the lead into Turn 1, instantly breaking free of DRS threat as the early laps ticked by. 

He began managing his tyres despite setting the fastest lap, holding the interval steady until Norris decided to attack on Lap 13.

Five laps later, the McLaren driver had reinstated his P1 starting position, quieting the crowd as he stole the lead from Verstappen who celebrated 200 race starts in F1 this weekend.

Along with the positional loss, Verstappen had greater worries as his RB20 lacked grip and the ability to turn.

Only falling back in the order due to pitstops, Norris rounded out the race with a 22.8-second lead, the largest margin all season as he took his first win since Miami, and the fastest lap with a time of 1:13.817s. 

Race winner Lando Norris takes the chequered flag at the Dutch GP. Image: Andrew Ferraro / LAT Images.

Behind the first- and second-place finishers, a four-way battle unfolded in the first stint.

Russell, Piastri, Leclerc and Sergio Perez found themselves in a controlled DRS train, fighting for the final podium position off the line. 

On his own terms, Russell broke free, and getting left behind, Perez dropped off to leave Leclerc and Piastri engaged.

Disposing of the McLaren, Leclerc’s “miracle” podium hunt from P6 kicked off, aided by a perfectly executed undercut that saw him pass both Russell and Piastri in the process.

Holding onto the booze position, Leclerc rewarded the Italian team with an unexpected podium finish, while Carlos Sainz, starting from P10, made up five places to finish in a hard-earned P5.

Lewis Hamilton was also a big mover, scoring 4 points from his penalised starting position of P14.

The seven-time world champion’s race ran at a different pace, starting on the soft tyre before a switch to the hard compound, and then back to the soft tyre.

Russell also completed the Dutch Grand Prix as a two-stopper, gifting Sergio Perez an additional place in a strategy call that didn’t pay off for the #63.

As a result, Mercedes finished in P7 and P8, a shift from their race-winning form prior to the summer break. 

Rounding out the top ten, Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso filled the final two points-scoring positions. 

In the Alpine, Gasly had a super race, making two places up through the first turn to eventually hold on to his starting position by the chequered flag.

Alonso’s race was dependent on demoting Nico Hulkenberg, successfully doing so to take home one point in the Netherlands. 

The Spaniard and his 19 competitors will have the chance to go again in seven days, with the paddock up and moving to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix next weekend.

In Ferrari’s backyard, the cars will be back on track on Friday, with the first practice session taking place at 9:30 PM.

Image: Alastair Staley / LAT Images

Dutch Grand Prix Race Results:

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