Lando Norris hails ‘unbelievable’ McLaren pace as he reflects on moment he knew he could beat Max Verstappen to Zandvoort victory

Lando Norris was thrilled to bounce back from a tricky start to take his second F1 victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, with the McLaren driver hailing his car as “unbelievable” after crossing the line more than 20 seconds up the road from Max Verstappen.

After a slow launch when the lights went out, pole-sitter Norris lost out on the lead to Verstappen as the Red Bull surged ahead into Turn 1. However, the Briton started to close in as the laps ticked down before overtaking the reigning world champion on Lap 18 of 72.

From there Norris enjoyed a dominant drive to the chequered flag and, reflecting on how it felt to be a race winner again after stepping out of the car, the 24-year-old – who claimed his debut win in Miami back in May – answered: “It feels amazing once again.

“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.”

2024 Dutch Grand Prix: Norris overtakes Verstappen to retake the lead

Pushed on whether he felt confident that he could win following his pass on Verstappen, Norris admitted that he had believed the victory was possible much earlier than that.

“From quite early on actually, probably Lap 5, 6, 7,” he explained. “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.

DRIVER OF THE DAY: Norris gets your nod for imperious Dutch drive

“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.”

ZANDVOORT, NETHERLANDS - AUGUST 25: Second placed Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red — Norris took the chequered flag by more than 20 seconds from Verstappen

Norris also paid tribute to the fans who had shown their support for him at Zandvoort, a track that had previously only seen Verstappen take victory since its return to the F1 calendar in 2021.

“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,” the McLaren man said. “I hope it was a good race, there are a lot of them supporting me so I appreciate it a lot.”

AS IT HAPPENED: Follow all the action from the Dutch GP as Norris beats Verstappen to victory

Taking the win – as well as setting the fastest lap of the race – means that Norris has now closed the gap slightly to Verstappen in the drivers’ standings to 70 points, while McLaren have reduced Red Bull’s advantage in the constructors’ to just 30 points.