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David Coulthard shares what Lando Norris did during the Dutch Grand Prix that reminded him of Ayrton Senna

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Lando Norris may have needed a helping hand from the safety car to secure his maiden Formula 1 win in Miami, but he absolutely dominated the rest of the grid to stand on the top step of the podium for a second time in Zandvoort.

The Dutch Grand Prix was the perfect opportunity for the Brit and McLaren to re-assume their position at the front of the pack after the F1 summer break.

While Lando Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri had a frustrating weekend, Norris took pole position, managed to overtake Max Verstappen and set the fastest lap of the race as he took the chequered flag.

It narrowed the gap in the Drivers’ Championship although overturning a 70-point deficit during the final nine race weekends of the season is going to be next to impossible.

Speaking on the Formula For Success Podcast, another former F1 race winner for McLaren,  David Coulthard, spoke about the 24-year-old’s achievement.

Norris isn’t in the pantheon of the greatest driver in Formula 1 history just yet.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from height and parents to celebration

He needs to win a title before he can even be considered in that conversation, although he’ll be glad that he finally ended his wait for a race win this year.

However, Coulthard believes that Norris did something comparable to Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna at Zandvoort.

David Coulthard compares Lando Norris to Ayrton Senna after Dutch Grand Prix win

Reflecting on the previous race weekend, Coulthard said: “Right, Zandvoort, what a brilliant performance from Lando Norris.

“For someone who came into the race weekend being questioned about their summer break and then the question obviously came up about how he felt his own performance had been and as Lando is incredibly honest, he goes, ‘I haven’t driven like a world champion’.

“And then the risk in that of course is that becomes the little crack that journalists can keep sticking their finger in and causing problems down the line.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

“But what he did was absolutely fantastic. A pole position lap like we would have seen from Max when he’s on form with the car or Michael or Ayrton, just one of those laps where you go wow!

“And then having fluffed the start again I was thinking well there’s number six, he just doesn’t seem to get his starts right for whatever reason.

F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands
Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images

“He comes back, manages his tyres and strokes it to the crème de la crème of a fastest lap on the last lap on worn hard tyres, gets that extra point. That was truly world-class.”

Helmut Marko has shared how he thinks Lando Norris would fare against Max Verstappen in the same car

Norris is arguably racing in one of the strongest eras of Formula 1.

Although only three world champions are currently on the grid – Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso – only seven drivers on the grid haven’t won a Grand Prix.

It’s a remarkable feat and the cars are closer than ever with only the two Saubers and newcomer Franco Colapinto yet to score a point.

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko believes Norris would get close to Verstappen if they were in the same car but still thinks the Dutchman would be faster.

It’s highly unlikely that they’ll ever be teammates and the Brit has his work cut out if he’s going to snatch a fourth championship away from Verstappen.

However, stranger things have happened in F1 before and it would only take one retirement from the 26-year-old to make things much more interesting.