Lando Norris triumphs at the Dutch GP, outshining Verstappen on his home turf and snatching the fastest lap in a dramatic final lap flourish.
The Dutch Grand Prix weekend unfolded amidst challenging weather conditions and a truncated practice session following Logan Sargeant’s crash. Consequently, establishing a clear pecking order for the qualifying round proved arduous, with timings more competitive than ever.
To illustrate the minimal performance disparities between the cars, the first driver eliminated in Q2 missed the top time by less than half a second. Hence, every minor error, poor adjustment, or less-than-optimal preparation made a crucial difference between success and failure.
Lando Norris clinched an impressive pole position, finishing three-tenths ahead of Max Verstappen, who was notably wary of McLaren’s qualifying pace. Oscar Piastri could have secured a front row start but faltered on his final lap. He will be joined on the second row by George Russell, with Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc in pursuit.
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will colour the fourth row in Aston Martin green, followed by Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz. Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hülkenberg precede Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton, the latter having incurred a penalty.
Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas are on the eighth row, ahead of Guanyu Zhou and Logan Sargeant, who did not run in the qualifiers. Alex Albon, initially qualified in a commendable eighth place, was disqualified for non-compliance with F1 regulations. Kevin Magnussen, due to parc fermé part changes, will start from the pits.
The weather is expected to remain mild throughout the race, sparing the drivers from the heavy showers seen in 2023. However, significant wind could present tricky conditions over the 72 laps.
At 14:57, Tsunoda, Hamilton, and Bottas opted for soft tyres, Magnussen started on hard tyres, and the remaining 16 drivers chose mediums.
At the start, Verstappen executed a superb overtake on Norris, while behind them, Russell overtook Piastri. The clean side of the track apparently struggled initially as Leclerc also managed to pass Pérez.
By the first lap, Gasly was seventh ahead of Alonso, Sainz, and Stroll. Hamilton was positioned 13th, having overtaken Zhou alongside the Williams drivers.
On the second lap, Verstappen had already exited the DRS zone of Norris.
By the third lap, Verstappen set the fastest race lap at 1’16″106, with Norris closely trailing at 1’16″1, 1.5 seconds behind his rival. Russell was third, closely challenged by Piastri within half a second.
By the fourth lap, the gaps remained tight, and Russell found himself under the threat of a trailing trio. Hamilton leveraged his soft tyres to surpass Tsunoda and move into 12th place.
Lap 5: The gap between Verstappen and Norris remains stable, with Gasly losing some ground in seventh place, two seconds behind Pérez.
Lap 6: Norris continues to trail Verstappen by 1.3 seconds, with Russell two seconds behind his compatriot, still ahead of Piastri, Leclerc, and Pérez. Gasly closes to within two seconds of the Mexican.
Lap 7: Verstappen extends the lead to 1.5 seconds, and Russell is 2.1 seconds behind. Pérez and Gasly post their personal best laps of the race, closing in on Leclerc, with Gasly now only 1.6 seconds adrift of Pérez.
Lap 8: Russell loses some time, while Piastri drops back beyond one second behind him. Leclerc is just six-tenths behind the Australian. Gasly has fallen back from Pérez again, with Sainz looming behind him.
Lap 9: Norris is now 1.6 seconds behind Verstappen, with Russell falling back to 2.9 seconds from the McLaren. Sainz overtakes Alonso for eighth position.
Lap 10: Hamilton overtakes Hülkenberg to take 11th place. The Briton is only ten seconds off third place, benefiting from Russell’s lacklustre pace.
Lap 11: The gaps stabilize among the leaders, and Sainz overtakes Gasly to move into seventh, 3.8 seconds behind Pérez.
Lap 12: Norris closes to within a second of Verstappen, pushing Russell 3.4 seconds back. Albon pits after 12 laps on medium tyres, switching to hards.
Lap 13: Norris remains roughly a second behind Verstappen. Sainz fails to close on Pérez but extends his lead over Gasly, who is not caught by Alonso.
Lap 14: Hamilton continues his ascent, passing Stroll for tenth place. He is now 12 seconds behind Russell.
Lap 15: Verstappen reports difficulties in turning at turn 10, likely explaining why Norris remains about a second behind. Hülkenberg and Tsunoda pit and rejoin ahead of Albon.
Lap 16: Norris closes to less than a second, even coming within seven-tenths of Verstappen at times.
Lap 17: Norris launches his first attack, drawing close to Verstappen, but to no avail!
Lap 18: And the second attempt is successful for Norris, who overtakes Verstappen to take the lead. Shortly before, the Red Bull driver had reported struggling with tyre grip.
Lap 19: Norris fails to pull away from Verstappen, with the gap between the two leaders at six-tenths. Russell is 4.5 seconds back, with a 1.3-second cushion over Piastri, who is still closely pursued by Leclerc. Pérez remains isolated, as does Sainz. Hamilton is now on Gasly’s tail.
Lap 20: Norris extends his lead to one second, with Russell now five seconds adrift of Verstappen. Zhou, along with Bottas, heads into the pits, and the Stake drivers are at the rear.
Lap 21: The gap at the front now stands at 1.3 seconds. Norris voices concerns over increasingly difficult brakes, questioning the role of the wind.
Lap 22: Norris accelerates, pushing his lead to 2.2 seconds, while Russell falls 5.3 seconds behind Verstappen. The leader clocks a 1’15″7, outpacing his rivals who are lapping in the 1’16s, with Leclerc and Sainz posting the fastest times after him, matching each other to the thousandth of a second.
Lap 23: Norris continues to pull away, widening his lead over Verstappen to three seconds. Sargeant also makes a pit stop. Hamilton attempts an overtaking move on Gasly, but the Frenchman holds his position on the outside.
Lap 24: The gap at the front increases to 3.6 seconds, and Russell drops back, now 6.4 seconds behind Verstappen. Unable to pass Gasly, Hamilton pits and rejoins in 16th place behind Tsunoda, opting for hard tyres. A fierce battle ensues between Piastri and Leclerc, while Verstappen complains of the car not responding as expected.
Lap 25: Leclerc also pits and rejoins in ninth place. At the front, Norris extends his lead over Verstappen to more than 4.5 seconds.
Lap 26: The gap between Norris and Verstappen widens to five seconds, and Russell pits, leaving Piastri third ahead of Pérez, Sainz, and Gasly. Leclerc’s undercut proves effective, and Russell re-enters behind him.
Lap 27: Norris consistently laps between six and nine-tenths faster per lap than Verstappen. Hamilton overtakes Ocon, who is the last on track not to have pitted. Russell immediately clocks faster times than all his rivals with his new tyres.
Lap 28: Norris increases his lead to 6.3 seconds, and Verstappen pits. The Dutchman rejoins in fifth place between Sainz and Gasly. Russell sets the fastest lap of the race at 1’14″532.
Lap 29: In light of the undercut’s effectiveness, McLaren mirrors Verstappen’s strategy, calling Norris in. Piastri, Pérez, and Sainz now lead, with Norris rejoining with a five-second cushion over Verstappen.
Lap 30: Pérez also pits, stabilizing the gap between Norris and Verstappen at five seconds. The Mexican re-enters in ninth place after a botched stop, just ahead of Stroll. Ricciardo also makes a pit stop.
Lap 31: Sainz follows suit, leaving Piastri in the lead with a 7.8-second margin over Norris. Verstappen is 5.4 seconds behind the Briton, with a four-second buffer over Leclerc. Sainz rejoins just behind Pérez. Stroll and Ocon also pit.
Lap 32: Norris records the fastest lap of the race at 1’14″391, closing to within six seconds of Piastri, while leaving Verstappen more than six seconds behind. Alonso pits and rejoins in 14th place.
Lap 33: Gasly finally pits, having lost time, like Piastri. These staggered strategies, despite starting on medium tyres, are difficult to comprehend as the entire field is on a one-stop strategy. The Frenchman rejoins in 12th place.
Lap 34: Piastri pits and rejoins fifth, between Russell and Pérez. Norris retakes the lead, now seven seconds clear of Verstappen. Replay shows that Gasly’s pit stop was mishandled by Alpine.
Lap 35: Norris holds a 7.6-second advantage over Verstappen, with Leclerc 5.1 seconds behind the Dutchman. Russell is 4.2 seconds adrift, with Piastri at 3.9 seconds. Pérez is 2.9 seconds behind, leading Sainz by 2.3 seconds. Hamilton is eighth, 3.6 seconds ahead, followed by the Haas drivers Hülkenberg and Magnussen, though the latter has yet to pit. Albon is in 11th place.
Lap 36: We’ve reached the midpoint of the race, and the gap at the front is nearly 8 seconds.
Lap 37: Norris improves his best lap time to 1’14″312, but Piastri soon betters that with a 1’14″237, closing the gap to Russell to 2.7 seconds.
Lap 38: The gap between Norris and Verstappen widens to over 9 seconds. Leclerc is 6 seconds behind, with only a 3.4-second cushion over Russell, who now has Piastri just 1.9 seconds behind him.
Lap 39: Piastri closes to within a second of Russell, cutting more than a second per lap. A pass seems imminent. Stroll incurs a 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Lap 40: The gap now extends to more than 10 seconds between Norris and Verstappen. Piastri overtakes Russell for fourth place. Gasly passes both Albon and Magnussen, who also loses two places to the Astons. Magnussen, yet to stop, clearly hopes for a yellow or red flag.
Lap 41: Sainz sets the fastest lap of the race at 1’14″117. Magnussen finally pits.
Lap 42: Norris maintains his lead at ten seconds. Piastri narrows the gap to Leclerc to 2 seconds.
Lap 43: Alonso and Stroll overtake Albon, whose older tyres appear to be struggling.
Lap 44: The gap between the leaders now stands at 11.1 seconds. Leclerc is 6 seconds off Verstappen but sees Piastri closing to within 1.4 seconds. Russell is 5 seconds behind, with Pérez 2 seconds further back, but his bigger issue is Sainz looming close behind. Bottas makes another pit stop.
Lap 45: Sainz launches an unsuccessful attack. Piastri continues to close on Leclerc.
Lap 46: Piastri is now on the heels of Leclerc’s Ferrari. Sainz attempts another attack but still can’t make it stick.
Lap 47: Sainz finally overtakes Pérez after two laps of trying. Piastri attempts to close on Leclerc but has not yet managed to overtake the Ferrari.
Lap 48: McLaren plans to pit Norris if a safety car is deployed, aiming to switch him to medium tyres. Yet, the gap continues to grow, now at 12.6 seconds over Verstappen.
Lap 49: Norris leads Verstappen by 12.9 seconds, while Piastri still can’t find a way past Leclerc. Hamilton pits again and re-emerges in eighth, without losing a position. The seven-time world champion opts for soft tyres.
Lap 50: Verstappen is 13.3 seconds behind Norris, who currently dominates the race.
Lap 52: Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race at 1’13″883, and Red Bull hesitates on whether to pit Pérez, who holds a 24-second lead over Hamilton.
Lap 53: Norris further extends his lead to 14.2 seconds over Verstappen. Piastri lags slightly behind Leclerc, by just over a second.
Lap 54: Leclerc regains pace and pushes Piastri back to 1.6 seconds.
Lap 55: Russell also returns to the pits, switching to soft tyres. Piastri closes to within less than a second of Leclerc, now leading Sainz and Pérez.
Lap 56: Norris has now stretched his lead to 15.4 seconds over Verstappen. Albon has also pitted, rejoining the race in 18th position. Russell, now on soft tyres, finds himself 17 seconds behind Pérez. It seems improbable that he’ll reclaim the two positions he lost by pitting.
Lap 57: Piastri remarks that his tyres are “not incredible” but believes they will last until the finish.
Lap 58: The Australian has fallen back to over a second behind Leclerc. Russell is cutting into Pérez’s lead, shaving off between 1 and 2 seconds per lap and is now 14 seconds behind the Mexican. Albon overtakes Magnussen for 17th place.
Lap 59: Gasly, still in tenth, has caught up to Hülkenberg. The Frenchman could snatch two points if he manages to overtake the Haas driver. Albon gets past Tsunoda.
Lap 60: Norris’s lead at the front surpasses 16 seconds. Verstappen maintains a 6.5-second lead over Leclerc, who continues to fend off Piastri. Russell maintains a faster pace by a second per lap compared to Pérez, now just 10 seconds behind with 12 laps remaining. Gasly overtakes Hülkenberg for ninth place.
Lap 61: Hülkenberg now must resist Alonso, who is significantly faster and aiming for the tenth-place point.
Lap 62: Norris approaches a 17-second lead, and the gaps among the top nine appear to stabilize.
Lap 63: Hamilton sets a new fastest lap of the race at 1’13″878.
Lap 64: Norris betters his personal best lap and extends his lead to 18 seconds over Verstappen. Alonso overtakes Hülkenberg for tenth place.
Lap 66: Piastri remains within striking distance of Leclerc, but it remains to be seen whether his tyres will last long enough for an attack. Hamilton closes in on Russell, now just 1.2 seconds behind his teammate, whose late pit stop continues to baffle.
Lap 67: Piastri closes to within a second of Leclerc with six laps to go.
Lap 68: Stroll and Ricciardo now pose a threat to Hülkenberg.
Lap 69: The gap exceeds 20 seconds between Norris and Verstappen, with Piastri still 1 second behind Leclerc, who has closed to within 4.3 seconds of Verstappen. The gap between the Mercedes stabilizes.
Lap 70: The positions now seem unlikely to change.
Lap 71: Piastri has dropped back to 1.4 seconds behind, while Hamilton is 3.7 seconds off Russell. Positions appear to be locked at Mercedes.
Final Lap: Norris pushes and improves his personal best lap. Perhaps eyeing the fastest lap?
Finish: Norris secures victory at Zandvoort with a fastest lap of 1’13″817! This marks his first career Hat Trick—pole, win, and fastest lap in a race—for the McLaren F1 driver, who also earns ‘Driver of the Day’ from fan votes!
“The car is incredible,” stated the Briton on his victory lap. Verstappen finishes second with Leclerc clinching an unexpected podium for Ferrari. Piastri places fourth ahead of Sainz and Pérez, followed by Russell and Hamilton. Gasly and Alonso round out the top 10.
Hülkenberg finishes 11th, ahead of Ricciardo, who overtakes Stroll. Albon, ruing his qualifying disqualification, ends up 14th while Ocon finishes ahead of Sargeant, Tsunoda, Magnussen, Bottas, and Zhou.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | 72 Laps- 1h32m |
| 02 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | +22.896 |
| 03 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-24 | +25.439 |
| 04 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | +27.337 |
| 05 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari SF-24 | +32.137 |
| 06 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | +39.542 |
| 07 | George Russell | Mercedes W15 | +44.617 |
| 08 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W15 | +49.599 |
| 09 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault A524 | +1 lap |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | +1 lap |
| 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | +1 lap |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | +1 lap |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | +1 lap |
| 14 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW46 | +1 lap |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault A524 | +1 lap |
| 16 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes FW46 | +1 lap |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | +1 lap |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | +1 lap |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | +2 laps |
| 20 | Guanyu Zhou | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | +2 laps |
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