Lando Norris claims his second Formula 1 race defeating Verstappen 

McLaren driver Lando Norris won his second Formula 1 race at the Dutch Grand Prix beating Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured third place.

F1 Dutch GP: McLaren stuns Red Bull

Norris started from pole position but lost the lead to Verstappen at the beginning of the race. Despite this, Norris managed to find extra pace as the race progressed while Verstappen struggled with grip issues. Norris closed the gap and reclaimed the lead, which he maintained throughout the race. After both front-runners made their pit stops, Norris extended his advantage and won by 20 seconds, adding to his earlier Miami victory and reducing Verstappen’s championship lead. Charles Leclerc moved from sixth to third place, securing a podium finish despite a tough weekend for Ferrari.

F1 Dutch GP: Norris on top of the world

It was Norris who took the lead by the end by setting the fastest time to earn the bonus, reducing Max Verstappen’s lead from 78 points to 70 with nine races left.

The 24 year old who bagged his debut win back in May in Miami expressed his joy by answering, “It feels amazing once again.

He further added that, “I wouldn’t say a perfect race because of Lap 1 again, but afterwards the pace was very strong, the car was unbelievable today. 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.”

When asked about his confidence whether he could win or not, he said, “I expected Max to start pushing and get a bit of a 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, so it’s a nice feeling inside the car and especially when I got past. I could just get comfortable, I could push, I had clean air and that’s always a big help.”

Norris while paying tribute to his fans who supported him said, “We have so many fans here! It’s beautiful, I have a lot of Dutch fans and Dutch supporters, so I thank you very much. I hope it was a good race, there are a lot of them supporting me, so I appreciate it a lot.” 

F1 Dutch GP: Rest of the pack

Oscar Piastri ended up fourth after losing track position by extending his initial stint. Carlos Sainz took fifth place, pushing Ferrari’s points, while Sergio Perez finished just behind him in the Red Bull. Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who had started further back, made late pit stops for soft tyres to try for the fastest lap but ended up finishing outside the top five. 

Pierre Gasly finished in ninth place, while Fernando Alonso secured the final point for Aston Martin by overtaking Nico Hulkenberg near the end. Lance Stroll dropped to thirteenth after a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, while Alex Albon, who started from the back due to qualifying over William’s illegal floor upgrade, ended up fourteenth after a two-stop strategy. Esteban Ocon and Logan Sargeant finished fifteenth and sixteenth, respectively. Yuki Tsunoda finished 17th after a two-stop strategy, Kevin Magnussen, who started from the pit lane, ended up eighteenth, and Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, both from Kick Sauber, were nineteenth and twentieth after two pit stops each.