Giedo van der Garde left applauding four-podium F1 driver after the Dutch Grand Prix

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The star of the show at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday was Lando Norris as he delivered another dominant victory for McLaren in what is shaping up to be the team’s best season in decades.

The Brit opened up a huge lead over Max Verstappen before setting the fastest lap of the race as he took the chequered flag.

Norris even made a cheeky dig at Verstappen with his radio message after claiming his second win of the season.

However, he wasn’t the only driver who put in a really strong performance across the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.

Few would have expected to see a Ferrari driver on the podium after their performances across Friday and Saturday but that’s exactly what Charles Leclerc delivered.

All eight drivers from the top four teams that make up ‘Formula A’ this year finished the race, meaning there were just two points-paying positions left for the rest of the grid to fight for.

Pierre Gasly came out on top of that 12-car battle – if you can include Sauber in this group of cars – with a fantastic display in qualifying and the race itself.

The Frenchman took to Instagram after securing a place in Q3 before executing a perfect race to add two more points to his tally for the season.

Former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde was particularly impressed with the 28-year-old.

Gasly has four podiums to his name in F1 – the last one coming at Zandvoort last year – and while he’s unlikely to add that collection this year, he’ll be hoping Alpine’s return to the midfield battle after a slow start to the season is an indication that the team are going in the right direction.

READ MORE: Alpine driver Pierre Gasly’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Giedo van der Garde very impressed with Pierre Gasly at the Dutch Grand Prix

Gasly shared a collection of pictures from his weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix with the caption: “Zandvoort dumppp.”

Van Der Garde replied to the Frenchman simply with an applause emoji after a very strong performance on Sunday.

There was nothing more that Gasly could have done for Alpine during the race to score any more points.

He was the first driver to cross the line who didn’t finish on the lead lap with Lewis Hamilton a long way up the road despite starting several rows behind him.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Pierre Gasly credits Jack Doohan for helping achieve Dutch Grand Prix result

Alpine have had a difficult season but have at least improved from being the worst car on the grid at the season opener in Bahrain.

It’s also been a season of transition with changes made off the track and an updated driver line-up coming in 2025.

Flavio Briatore has arrived as an executive advisor while Oliver Oakes is the new team principal.

Alpine have also decided to replace Esteban Ocon with Jack Doohan for next year and the reserve and simulator driver is doing a fantastic job behind the scenes.

Gasly credited Doohan for his help with setup changes over the course of the race weekend that ultimately helped him score points on Sunday.

If his feedback continues at that level in 2025 when he’s in the car for real, the team can look forward to making some impressive steps in the right direction.