Lando Norris has hailed his own performance as superior to all other drivers following an impressive victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, a race overshadowed by Max Verstappen’s dramatic crash at his home event.
The 26-year-old racing driver from Glastonbury showcased remarkable skill to overtake championship leader Kimi Antonelli at Zandvoort, clinching consecutive wins that have reignited hopes of retaining his world title.
Despite his success, Norris currently sits fourth in the drivers' standings, trailing Italian leader Antonelli by 83 points. Meanwhile, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton remain 59 points adrift of Antonelli.
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Mercedes have expressed concern about the rising threat posed by McLaren and Norris. Antonelli has identified McLaren as the fastest team on the grid, while Russell has described the papaya-coloured squad as the team to beat this season.
However, Norris offered a measured response: “They are not going to say themselves, are they? I don’t think it’s true. Mercedes have a better all-round performing car. I also know how good of a job I’m doing behind the wheel. For once I will give myself a little bit of credit that I feel I am doing a better job than everyone.”
He continued, “I think that can make a difference. We have a car now capable of beating them. We didn’t win yesterday (the sprint race) and we didn’t change much, but I worked a lot on my driving – I want to believe more than everyone else. I make one mistake and we’re P4, P5. So the fact that I am doing a good job is the reason why people are saying it.”
After a disappointing sprint race, Norris delivered a commanding drive in Sunday’s main Grand Prix event. Initially, he lost the lead off the line to Antonelli following a red flag caused by Verstappen’s crash, with the race having started in damp conditions. However, a strategic decision by McLaren to pit Norris later than Antonelli gave him fresher tyres for the final part of the race.
This advantage allowed Norris to attack and eventually overtake Antonelli around the outside of turn one on lap 54, securing the win.
Speaking about his performance, Norris said, “When the car gives me what I want and I am driving at the level I am now, I can win races. I was able to force him to make mistakes, force them to do something with strategy.”
He declined to confirm whether he was definitively back in the title race but accepted that Sunday’s victory was among his most hard-fought wins. “I made it tough for myself but a good race. Probably one of my better wins. We had to fight for it,” he added.
Mercedes implemented team orders during the race, with Russell allowing Antonelli to pass on fresher tyres as part of their strategy. Russell then successfully defended third place against Hamilton in the closing stages. Charles Leclerc finished fourth, followed by Norris’s McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
The final Dutch Grand Prix before the event is removed from the calendar started dramatically for the enthusiastic fans, as their home favourite Verstappen endured a high-speed crash at the end of the opening lap.
The four-time world champion appeared to dip a wheel onto the kerb on the inside of the banked final bend, losing control and colliding heavily with the barriers. Fortunately, Verstappen was unharmed and post-race said, “It was a decent hit but I’ve had worse.”
He added during a Sky Sports interview, “I could see a bit of a dry line coming and I thought I could accelerate up but it accelerated a lot and it caught me out. I hit the wall. It could have been a lot worse because there were a lot of cars behind me but luckily that all went well.”
Ferrari found themselves in a tense radio exchange as Hamilton requested to pass teammate Leclerc. Leclerc was eventually asked to pit but resisted for an extra lap. Hamilton later expressed frustration over the delay, commenting, “Great way of wasting time guys, good job.”
On Sky Sports, Hamilton reflected, “We couldn’t win this race but to win championships you have to pick up every point and the last few races have been difficult with penalties and stuff and then, today, I lost several seconds behind Charles which I think ultimately would have made the difference at the end.”,