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Agence France-Presse

McLaren driver Lando Norris produced a superb performance to break the grip of previously unbeaten local favourite Max Verstappen at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.
Here are five key takeaways from the race weekend at the seaside circuit of Zandvoort, just a stone’s throw from the beach.
McLaren now has fastest car
After spending too long, from their perspective, chasing Red Bull, McLaren can now proudly say they have the fastest car in the Formula One paddock.
“100 per cent,” replied Norris when asked if he had the quickest package available to him.
Recent upgrades to the car have played a part in making it more competitive.
“Simply lovely,” said a cheeky Norris as he crossed the line, copying a phrase Verstappen has used many times when taking the chequered flag.
The only dark cloud on the McLaren horizon was the start.
Both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri suffered wheelspin at the lights, with the Briton giving up the hard-fought pole position.
“It was another race that nearly slipped off the line,” admitted Norris.
The difference between this and previous times he had failed to convert a pole position was that he had much more consistent pace compared with the Red Bull.

Verstappen’s unhappy homecoming
Not only had Verstappen not lost since Zandvoort was reintroduced to the F1 circuit in 2021, he had never even failed to claim pole.
But this was not a happy homecoming for Verstappen despite the presence of his famous “Orange Army” cheering his every move.
Spinning his car in a wet first practice was a bad omen and he complained about his car all weekend, losing pole to Norris and then being more than 22 seconds off the pace on race day.
“Just a bad weekend all round,” said a downbeat Verstappen, who nevertheless retains a 70-point advantage over Norris in the drivers’ championship.
Williams way off the pace
If Red Bull had a bad weekend, spare a thought for Williams.
On the final practice session on Friday, Williams driver Logan Sargeant skidded on wet grass in atrocious weather conditions and careered violently into the fence.
The car promptly burst into flames. Sargeant was unharmed but his vehicle was almost completely destroyed.
Then a few hours later came the news that the other Williams driver, Alex Albon, had been penalised for a technical infringement and would start from the back of the grid.
“That’s on our shoulders,” said team principal James Vowles, as his drivers finished in 14th and 16th place, more than a lap off the pace.
Ferrari get timely boost
The scuderia came into the Dutch Grand Prix with low expectations that seemed to be confirmed in qualifying with their drivers starting in sixth and a lowly 10th on the grid.
But Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc found some speed from somewhere to hold off Piastri’s McLaren in a thrilling race for the last spot on the podium.
Teammate Carlos Sainz battled his way from 10th up to fifth, giving the Ferrari team a boost as they head into their home Grand Prix next weekend in Monza.
Leclerc was at a loss to explain how the car had gone from nine-tenths of a second off the pace in qualifying to challenging the grid’s best cars.
“I think as much as we analyse every bad surprise we have during a season, we also need to understand when we do something good,” he quipped.

Weather not a factor
Those not familiar with Dutch seaside weather might have received a shock from their visit to Zandvoort.
The three days leading up to Sunday’s race featured weather ranging from torrential rain to bright sunshine and back again in the space of a few minutes.
All drivers complained of windy gusts in Saturday’s qualifying session, with Williams boss Vowles remarking the weather was better suited to kitesurfing than Formula One.
But this did not deter the 305,000 people who turned up to watch across the three days.
The people happiest with the variable weather were the children lining the route leading up to the circuit selling ponchos to the damp and ill-equipped.


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Formula One (F1)

Dutch Grand Prix: 5 key takeaways from the Dutch Formula 1 race, Lando Norris’ crunch win

McLaren’s British driver Lando Norris reacts after winning the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort circuit on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (left) looks on as McLaren’s Lando Norris hoists the winning trophy at Zandvoort. Photo: Xinhua

More than 300,000 spectators braved the contrasting weather conditions to attend the three days of the Dutch GP. Photo: Xinhua

Dutch Grand Prix: Formula 1 leader Max Verstappen needs a home win to end losing streak

Red Bull’s 26-year-old Dutch driver, Max Verstappen, is on his longest losing streak in four years. Photo: AFP

Visitors taking a close look at the Red Bull racing car presented at Zandvoort boulevard. Photo: EPA-EFE

An image taken by a drone of the Zandvoort circuit, site of Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix. Photo: EPA-EFE

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has scored more points than any driver in the past four races. Photo: Xinhua

Formula One: Kick Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu in race against time to secure seat for 2025

Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu after the drivers’ parade at the Belgium Grand Prix. Photo: Reuters

Kick Sauber mechanics push Zhou Guanyu’s car before the Belgian Grand Prix. Photo: AFP

Formula One: Australian Jack Doohan to partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine next season

Australian Jack Doohan will drive for Alpine in Formula One next season. Photo: Reuters

Alpine’s French driver Pierre Gasly speaks to the press ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix. Photo: AFP

Meet Michael Schumacher’s wife and ‘guardian angel’, Corinna Schumacher: how the champion equestrian has protected her F1 legend husband’s legacy – and millions – since his accident

Ex-Formula One driver Michael Schumacher and his wife Corinna pose during the 31. Sportpresseball at Alte Oper in 2012, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Photo: Getty Images

Former F1 driver Michael Schumacher, pictured between 2010 and 2012 while driving for the Mercedes team. Photo: @michaelschumacher/Instagram

Michael Schumacher’s daughter, Gina-Maria Schumacher, shared this throwback image from her childhood featuring her father, and mother Corinna Schumacher. Photo: @gina_schumacher/Instagram

Corinna Schumacher, alongside her husband Michael Schumacher, at a photo call after the former F1 driver won his race in Hungary, in 2001. Photo: Reuters 

Michael Schumacher’s wife, Corinna Schumacher, is pictured entering the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire hospital in Grenoble, France, in January 2014, soon after her husband’s skiing accident. Photo: EPA

Corinna Schumacher and her daughter, Gina-Maria Schumacher, with one of their horses. Photo: @gina_schumacher/Instagram

In January, Michael Schumacher’s daughter, Gina-Maria Schumacher, marked the ex-F1 driver’s birthday with this throwback photo of herself with her father and her brother, Mick Schumacher. Photo: @gina_schumacher/Instagram

Corinna Schumacher, Michael Schumacher’s wife, poses with her dog. Photo: @gina_schumacher/Instagram

Sport

It was meant to be a routine home win for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen but little went according to script at the beachside town of Zandvoort


It was meant to be a routine home win for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen but little went according to script at the beachside town of Zandvoort.


Max Verstappen