Lando Norris beats Max Verstappen at Dutch Grand Prix to set up intriguing F1 title race
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — Lando Norris produced a dominant performance at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday, holding off Max Verstappen with ease to potentially reignite the drivers’ world championship with nine races left this season.
The British driver started on pole and promptly lost the lead to Verstappen, but overtook the Dutchman on his home circuit and never seemed troubled again as he coasted to victory, crossing the finish line as fireworks exploded above him.
Verstappen held on for second place to limit his losses in the drivers’ championship, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the podium in third after an impressive race.
“It feels amazing, I wouldn’t say a perfect race because of lap one again but afterwards that was beautiful,” Norris said in his post-race interview. “The pace was very strong, the car was unbelievable today so I could get comfortable, I could push and get past Max which was the main thing and just go from there. Honestly quite a straightforward race, still tough but very enjoyable.”
“Probably lap five, six, seven I expected Max to start pushing and get a good gap but he never did. So, from that point, I knew we were in with a good fight but he seemed to just keep dropping off and my pace was getting better,” he added.
McLaren endured a terrible start as Verstappen breezed past Norris before the first turn, while Mercedes’ George Russell slipped ahead of Oscar Piastri.
But the pace of the McLaren cars propelled them back into the lead, and Norris nonchalantly overtook Verstappen on the 17th lap of the race, before the first wave of pit stops.
Much like Verstappen could do at the start of the season, Norris then just stretched ahead of the field, carving out a lead of more than 20 seconds by the end of the race. Such a dominant performance further highlights Norris’ potential to challenge for the drivers’ championship as he chipped away at Verstappen’s still enormous lead in the competition – the world champion is still 70 points ahead.
Piastri ended the race in fourth place, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez languished in sixth place, meaning that McLaren made inroads into Red Bull’s lead in the constructors championship too, eroding it to 31 points.
Sunday’s Grand Prix marked the fifth consecutive race won by a driver other than Verstappen this season, the longest winless streak he has experienced since 2020.
“You always try to do better, we had a good start, we tried everything we could today but throughout the race I think it was quite clear that we were not quick enough so I tried to be second today,” Verstappen said in his post race interview.
“I know we have good starts so I was confident we would have another one and then I tried to do my own race and that was second today.”
The next opportunity for Norris to challenge Verstappen is on September 1 at the Italian Grand Prix.
The-CNN-Wire
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