Lando Norris made it back-to-back victories with a remarkable win at the Dutch Grand Prix, converting pole position into victory in a gripping final Formula 1 race at Zandvoort.
Fresh from his win in Hungary before the summer break, the reigning World Champion arrived in the Netherlands with plenty of momentum. After securing pole in Saturday’s Qualifying, Norris navigated poor weather, a red flag, multiple tyre strategies, and a late Virtual Safety Car to take the chequered flag 11 seconds clear of the field.
It was a fitting way for McLaren to farewell Zandvoort, with the team claiming its third consecutive victory at the circuit.
The unpredictable Dutch weather played its part almost immediately. A heavy shower shortly before the cars headed to the grid left the circuit damp and slippery for the start, but Norris made a clean getaway and initially held onto the lead.
The race was soon red flagged following a heavy crash for home favourite Max Verstappen at the high-speed final corner. Thankfully, the Red Bull driver was able to climb out of the car and walk away unharmed, but his early exit brought a disappointing end to his final home Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
When racing resumed, Kimi Antonelli managed to get the better of Norris and take the lead, leaving the McLaren driver with work to do.
McLaren initially planned to undercut the Mercedes around Lap 40, but Antonelli pitted first to cover the move. Norris stayed out for another seven laps, eventually emerging around six seconds behind the Italian but with significantly fresher hard tyres. This proved to be the right call as he was able to pass Antonelli on lap 53.
A late Virtual Safety Car briefly threatened to shake things up again, but by this point, Lando had built enough of an advantage to comfortably retain the lead and cross the line 11 seconds clear, securing his second consecutive victory and his second win at Zandvoort.
For McLaren, the result continues an impressive run of form and provides further evidence that the team’s recent upgrades are working.
It also completes an incredible hat-trick at Zandvoort, with McLaren winning each of the final three Dutch Grands Prix.
But that’s not all. There was also a nice piece of history attached to the result. When Formula 1 previously said goodbye to Zandvoort in 1985, reigning World Champion Niki Lauda won the race for McLaren. 41 years later, another reigning World Champion and McLaren driver has done the same.
For Lando Norris and McLaren, they couldn’t have asked for a better way to farewell one of Formula 1’s most iconic circuits.
