The Brit has become the first driver to stop Max Verstappen from taking pole position and the win in the Netherlands since the Zandvoort circuit returned to the calendar in 2021. Yet there's more to Norris beating Verstappen on the champion's home turf to take away from the Netherlands. The convincing nature of the victory suggests Norris has a chance, slim as it might be, to become the 2024 champion.
It didn't all go the McLaren driver's way, though. Another poor start for Norris, something he's continually struggled with this year, saw him cede the lead off the line. Verstappen, who started alongside Norris on the front row, delighted the home fans by roaring into P1 on the run to the Turn 1 hairpin. With Oscar Piastri in the sister car also dropping back on Lap 1, McLaren's day did not start as they had hoped.
There were fights throughout the grid, with only Logan Sargeant in P18 as the only driver to remain in their starting position by the end of Lap 2. George Russell was up to P3, with Charles Leclerc into P5, while their teammates Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz were making up places in the midfield after disappointing qualifying performances. It was noteworthy that neither Mercedes nor Ferrari, two teams with multiple 2024 wins, looked capable of victory in Zandvoort but instead had to settle for a battle for the podium.
In the race for the lead, though, a patient Norris kept Verstappen in his sights throughout the opening laps. The Red Bull's front tyres weren't lasting as well as the McLaren's Pirelli rubber, allowing Norris to begin grinding down the gap. By Lap 17, he was on Verstappen's rear wing and used DRS down the main straight as Lap 18 began to ease into P1.
The pace of the McLaren was far greater than the Red Bull, and Norris spent the rest of his race steadily growing his lead. Verstappen had no answer for the pace of his friend and rival and eventually settled for a distant P2 finish. It was a 22.896-second gap between the pair by the chequered flag, the largest of 2024, highlighting the Briton's advantage.
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However, there wasn't the same fortune for Piastri in the second McLaren. His slip from P3 on Lap 1 had hurt the Australian, who was locked in a fight with Russell and Leclerc in a scrap for the final podium spot. Piastri probably had better speed but couldn't benefit from it with the equal engine of Russell ahead, leaving the Melbourne man stuck in P4.
A switch to the Pirelli hard compound tyre for Leclerc was Ferrari's attempt at beating both Russell and Piastri. Their gamble worked beautifully, too, with Leclerc setting the fastest middle sector on his out lap and leapfrogging into P3 after Piastri and Russell pitted. With Russell stopping earlier than Piastri, the McLaren driver slid from P4 to P5 in the pit lane, powerless to defend.
Piastri would eventually benefit from his longer opening sint by having fresher tyres than Russell. A DRS-assisted move on the Mercedes, helped by the additional grip and speed of the newer Pirellis, returned him to P4, but he now had Leclerc to chase down instead. Unlike Norris, though, the second McLaren could find no way past in the closing laps and would settle for P4, while Leclerc celebrated a surprise podium for the Scuderia.
Ferrari's day went even better after Sainz's climb through the field. Russell chose to take a second pit stop after falling behind Piastri and fell to P7, gifting his P5 position to Sainz. The Spaniard spent his Sunday performing a recovery drive but gained five places from P10 by the chequered flag as Ferrari beat Mercedes for the best-of-the-rest award this time.
But it was Norris who was the best of everyone in Zandvoort, with a controlling win on Verstappen's home turf. A cheeky "simply lovely" radio message, usually the words of the Dutch world champion, shows he has Verstappen on his mind. With a 70-point gap to the top of the championship and nine rounds to close it, Norris' second F1 victory continues the hope that there might be a title showdown by the Abu Dhabi finale.