McLaren had no idea Lando Norris would do one thing during Dutch Grand Prix victory

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Lando Norris was in a class of his own during the Dutch Grand Prix, having crossed the line over 20 seconds ahead of title rival Max Verstappen.

The Briton won the race at Zandvoort despite being beaten off the line by Max Verstappen, who got a better second phase of his start off the line on the run down to the first corner.

After biding his time behind the Dutchman, within the first 18 laps, Lando Norris made a move on Verstappen and passed him for the lead.

Norris’ pace left Red Bull alarmed at the progress made by McLaren after Verstappen remarked that the team is now dealing with a problem that was not there at the start of the season.

He even had enough performance left in his car to set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, having done 43 laps on his set of hard tyres. Norris elected not to inform the team of his plan according to a report by Motorsport.com.

Lando Norris chooses not to inform McLaren over fastest lap attempt

Norris’ decision to go for a late fastest lap attempt was an inspired move, not least because it means he walks away with the maximum amount of points (26) from the weekend.

In a championship that could be won by fine margins, Norris needs to score all the points he needs and a fastest lap was a great way to add to his tally.

According to the report, McLaren was unaware of the Briton’s attempt on the final lap and was caught by surprise when he did cross the line and did a 1:13.817s.

Had Norris informed the team that he wanted to go for the bonus point, they would likely have pushed back on his efforts on the basis that it was not worth the risk.

What Martin Brundle ‘loved’ about Lando Norris’ win

Despite the poor start for Norris, his ability to regroup and put himself in a position to catch up to Verstappen was the most impressive thing for Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle.

Brundle believes that Norris’ was ‘metronomic’ and praised him for not ‘losing his head’ when he suffered the bad start, which became the sixth time he lost the lead from pole.

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

Former F1 driver Damon Hill was also impressed with Norris during the race after he secured his second victory in his F1 career.

Norris will need to replicate this form in the upcoming races and hope that Red Bull’s worries continue, as he closes the gap to Max Verstappen to just 70 points in the Drivers’ Championship.