Verstappen's winning streak in the Dutch Grand Prix is ended by Norris's comeback.
At the start of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Lando Norris, a driver for McLaren, surged ahead of Max Verstappen, his Red Bull adversary, and denied the Dutchman what would have been a fourth consecutive home victory.
For the race on Sunday, Norris qualified on the pole, but his hopes of turning that position into a victory were dashed when Verstappen passed him off the line, moved ahead at the first curve, and then broke free of the DRS window.
But as the race progressed, Norris composed himself to come back, picking up more speed as Verstappen struggled with a mid-stint lack of grip to cut the gap on the three-time world champion and take back a lead he would not give up.
Only before and after the leaders' only pit stops of the day did Norris widen his lead, and he ultimately crossed the finish line almost 20 seconds ahead of Verstappen to build on his Miami victory from earlier in the season and reduce the latter's lead in the championship.
After prolonging his first stint and losing track position, Oscar Piastri had to settle for fourth in the other McLaren, while Charles Leclerc put in an equally strong effort, moving up from sixth to third to salvage a podium on what has been a difficult weekend for Ferrari.
Carlos Sainz's climb to fifth place helped Ferrari gain more points than Red Bull's Sergio Perez and George Russell and Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, who chose to use their late second stops to put on soft tires and attempt to record the fastest lap.
Driver for Red Bull Max Verstappen has said that he only "tried to be second" at the Dutch Grand Prix after learning that McLaren competitor Lando Norris had superior raw speed.
As soon as the race began, Verstappen electrified the home crowd by leaping ahead of pole-sitter Norris. He then established a comfortable lead and, more importantly, drove out of the DRS window.
But Norris responded with a powerful turn of speed, and at the beginning of Lap 18, he used the overtaking aid on the start/finish straight to pass Verstappen and take the lead into Turn 1.
After that, Norris didn't turn around and kept pulling ahead of Verstappen in a one-stop race that saw the leaders finish 22.8 seconds ahead of time.
After placing second and failing to add to his victories at home in 2021, 2022, and 2023, Verstappen said, "You always try to do better."
"We had a strong start and gave it everything we had today, but I think it was evident throughout the race that we are not fast enough, so I attempted to finish in second place."
Verstappen responded, "Not at all," when asked about his beginnings and if he had been thinking of making such a move all along. Since I am aware of our strong starts, I felt fairly certain that we would have another one; fortunately, this was the case.
"I simply attempted to complete my own race, which happened to be second for the day."
With nine races left in the season, Verstappen's advantage in the championship has shrunk from 78 points to 70 because Norris also recorded the fastest lap of the race.
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