Follow us on

News

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen stunned by how slow 191-point driver was after the Dutch Grand Prix

Follow us on Google Discover

Lando Norris will not forget his latest visit to Zandvoort in a hurry and was welcomed across the line by a sea of fans wearing orange rising to their feet to applaud his performance.

Although the vast majority of those fans were at the Dutch Grand Prix to cheer on Max Verstappen, they couldn’t help but credit the McLaren driver’s fantastic performance.

Lando Norris won’t want to watch back his race start in a hurry.

Norris once again failed to lead the first lap of a race after starting on pole position, but his McLaren was far superior to the Red Bull, particularly when he switched onto the hard tyres.

Verstappen and Norris were a level above the rest of the field at Zandvoort.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

The performances of their teammates – Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri – highlight that they were at the very top of their game at a tricky circuit.

They were joined by Charles Leclerc on the podium after a clever strategy from Ferrari saw him undercut his rivals.

Leclerc wasn’t happy on the team radio but that didn’t matter as he extended his lead over teammate Carlos Sainz in the Drivers’ Championship.

Watching back the highlights in the cooldown room, Norris and Verstappen were shown a replay of Kevin Magnussen being overtaken on the main straight by several of his rivals.

They both couldn’t believe how slow the 191-point Danish driver was as he tried to earn his teammate another point from a difficult position.

READ MORE: Haas driver Kevin Magnussen’s life outside F1 from wife and daughters to net worth

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris surprised by how slow Kevin Magnussen was during the Dutch Grand Prix

Magnussen reached Q2 alongside teammate Nico Hulkenberg on Saturday but was forced to start from the pit lane after an engine component change.

It meant his chances of scoring a point were virtually over, but he could help Hulkenberg in a similar vein to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when the team recorded their first top-ten finish of the season.

However, it led to a bizarre scenario when he was holding up a quarter of the field at once.

Norris and Verstappen were watching the highlights of the race and saw the incident where Magnussen was overtaken by Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll going down the main straight.

F1 Grand Prix of Netherlands
Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Norris said out loud: “Oh my god! Oh my god, four [places],” while Verstappen was seen laughing at the incident in the background.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to earn Hulkenberg a point as he crossed the line in 11th.

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

Lando Norris achieves fantastic second Formula 1 win at Zandvoort

Just over 12 months ago, Norris was wondering whether he would be fighting in a midfield battle for the final point in a Grand Prix.

However, update after update has worked brilliantly for McLaren and they now have the fastest car on the grid.

McLaren’s updates are working better than expected compared to their wind tunnel data which is benefitting them immensely.

Whether Norris has enough time to catch Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship with nine races to go is another matter.

However, performances like the one at the Dutch Grand Prix will only do him the world of good.