Dutch GP: Peerless Norris rises to the challenge in Zandvoort
Lando Norris started from pole and once again lost the lead into the first corner of the Dutch GP, but this time the McLaren driver shrugged off the temporary setback and swept back past Max Verstappen for an emphatic victory.
It's the first time that Verstappen has failed to win his home race, and Norris' margin was a massive 20s, with an impressive Charles Leclerc joining them on the podium in a much better than expected Ferrari.
Oscar Piastri narrowly missed out on the top three but stayed ahead of Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, while Mercedes was oddly subdued with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton never really in the running for top honours today.
The weather at Zandvoort was looking rather more beach-ready than it had done on Friday and Saturday, and sunshine greeted the cars as they headed to the grid. There had been some changes to the starting order overnight, with a penalty for Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon being excluded for a technical infringement but allowed to line up at the back just behind his Williams team mate Logan Sargeant, and Kevin Magnussen starting from pit lane after Haas had to swap out his battery overnight.
But it was still McLaren's Lando Norris on pole and home hero Max Verstappen alongside him in the Red Bull on the front row when the lights went out. Not known for nailing the start, Norris once again fluffed the launch with wheel spin which allowed Verstappen to fly to the front and take charge. Oscar Piastri also lost a place and handed third to George Russell, Charles Leclerc similarly getting ahead of Sergio Perez all of which suggested that side of the grid was the place to be starting.
Verstappen made sure he was out of DRS range by the time it was enabled, but Norris was clinging on and the pair were soon pulling away from Russell and Piastri who were bunched up with Leclerc and Piastri. Pierre Gasly was doing a solid job holding on to P7 but he was clearly the cork in the bottle holding up faster cars including Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
The front runners had all opted to start on mediums while Hamilton in P12 was the first on soft tyres. He struggled to get the speed to pass the Haas until finally pulling off the move on lap 10, then galloping off to pass Lance Stroll for tenth. Sainz also found a way past Gasly's gallant defence to take seventh on lap 11, while Leclerc looked distinctly happier today than in practice and was dancing all the way up to the back of Piastri.
Attention was turning toward pit stops and strategies, with Albon first to pit at the back to exchange mediums for hard tyres. Verstappen certainly seemed to have used up his own tyres much quicker than Norris, who was now coming back into DRS range. Verstappen was forced to resort to some late defensive moves but Norris was wise to his rival's ways. Verstappen was forced to concede and Norris retook the lead into Tarzan on lap 18. Norris began to pull away as Verstappen alerted the Red Bull that "My tyres are just numb, they don't grip," adding: "I can't go any faster, the car isn't responding to my inputs."
Norris was indeed soon out of DRS range of Verstappen, while Russell was feeling little pressure from Piastri who was seriously struggling to hold off Leclerc. Further back, Hamilton had picked off Fernando Alonso in the second Aston Martin before pitting having made the soft tyres last a full 24 laps. Leclerc's mediums gave him only one lap more before the Ferrari pitted for hards, and Russell responded next time time round but came out behind the Monegasque. It was Verstappen's turn to pit on lap 28 and McLaren immediately covered by pitting Norris on the next lap. It was a slow service, but his advantage over Verstappen meant Norris still managed to came back out ahead.
Piastri stayed out and inherited the lead until finally pitting at the end of lap 33, restoring Norris to the lead ahead of Verstappen with Piastri slotting back in to fifth behind Leclerc and Russell, and ahead of Perez and Sainz who had Hamilton snapping at his heels. Rounding out the points were the two Haas cars of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, the latter having been the only driver to start on hard tyres from pit lane and yet to stop.
The fresher tyres enabled Piastri to sweep past Russell for fourth on lap 40 and set off in pursuit of Leclerc. Further back, Magnussen finally pitted leaving Gasly coming out top of a fantastic four-way battle over tenth with Albon, Alonso and Stroll, although the latter had just been handed a penalty for speeding in pit lane. The ferocity of the fight over a single point was proof of just how thrillingly competitive this season of F1 is proving to be.
Verstappen was still struggling on the hard tyres, and his team mate Perez was put to the sword by Sainz for sixth on lap 47. Hamilton was doubling down on his stop two strategy with a return to soft tyres on lap 50 all while retaining eighth place. The new tyres soon allowed him to set a new fastest lap of the race, but it was still a long 25s gap to Perez ahead of him. However, that depended on who was still to make a second stop of their own.
Russell was in on lap 55 to finish the race on the same softs Hamilton to help him catch up to Perez. Albon was also in on lap 56. But despite being stuck behind Leclerc, Piastri was clearly determined to stay out, telling the team that his current tyres were "not amazing but we'll make it to the end". Further back, Hulkenberg has reached the end of life on his hard tyres and was haemorrhaging positions to Gasly and Alonso as he dropped out of the points.
In the end there was no question about the winner with Norris holding a massive
20s lead at the line over Verstappen and even clinching the bonus point for fastest lap, with Leclerc fending off Piastri to join them on the podium. Sainz' bit to catch the McLaren fell short but he's done enough to stay ahead of Perez, with Russell and Hamilton failing to pull off their final soft stint strategy. The final points went to Gasly and Alonso, with all 20 cars will running at the chequered flag.
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