The Dutch Grand Prix, the first after the summer break, ended not only with a secure victory, but also with a real dominance by Lando Norris. The Briton finished 23 seconds behind Max Verstappen, who seemed invincible just six months ago, and was able to close the gap on the Dutchman in the general classification.
The race was not without its problems, however: Norris again made a mistake at the start when, due to a slip, he ended up behind the Red Bull before the first corner. However, for McLaren, which has a real chance of holding on to the Constructors’ Championship, this is not the only cause for concern.
How was the Dutch Grand Prix?
On Verstappen’s home turf, McLaren dominated. This is great for the championship.
McLaren is the fastest. but only one
Even before the summer break, McLaren began to be called the strongest car in the field, but even ahead of their rivals, the orange cars did not have an overwhelming advantage. The engineers prepared upgrades for the Zandvoort stage, and this time McLaren literally had no rivals: Norris left Verstappen at the same speed with which Max himself had recently broken away from the pack.
This victory is largely due to McLaren and its engineers. Lando once again failed to start from pole and after nine laps was one and a half seconds behind Verstappen. If his car had not had an advantage, it is not a fact that it would have been possible to counterattack Max on the narrow and winding track after this. And even if it had been possible, the Dutchman would have counterattacked with all his might in his home race – it is not a fact that it would not have ended in a collision, as happened in Austria.
At Zandvoort, Piastri lost more to Norris than Perez to Verstappen
Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
However, it is not this that should worry McLaren, but rather Oscar Piastri’s pace. Sergio Perez is regularly criticised in the paddock for being too far behind Verstappen, but this weekend Piastri was even further behind Norris. In qualifying, the Australian lost half a second to Lando, and in the race he was unable to overtake Leclerc and was 27 seconds behind. Let’s highlight: with the fastest car in the field, the Australian fell behind two rivals with less efficient equipment.
Let’s just say that Piastri didn’t have a chance to get ahead of Verstappen – Oscar got stuck behind Russell precisely because of Norris’s poor start, and then he pitted a little late. But the Australian had to get ahead of Leclerc, and if he had managed to do so, McLaren would now be 27 points behind Red Bull, not 30. Piastri’s pace problems are already hurting Woking’s championship chances, and it may turn out that they are the ones who will be worth the win at the end of the season.
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It’s too early to celebrate Ferrari’s success
Charles Leclerc’s podium is a great success for Ferrari, but it is too early to be happy for Maranello. This result is largely due to Leclerc personally, who was able to stay ahead of Piastri and not allow the McLaren driver to attack. In addition, Mercedes looked rather weak this weekend and, if it were not for this, even fourth place might have been out of reach for Charles.
“I am not usually happy with third place, but considering the sixth-place start and the low expectations, we should be satisfied,” said the Monegasque driver after the finish. “We did something with the car, it helped, but I don’t think we can explain exactly what it was ourselves. We need to understand how to make the most of the technology we have.”
Charles Leclerc ahead of Oscar Piastri
Photo: Joe Portlock/Getty Images
It should also be remembered that Leclerc lost 0.9 seconds to Norris in qualifying; for Zandvoort, a rather short track, this difference is very large. A deficit of 1.3% at Spa-Francorchamps would have meant losing more than a second. “When you see a gap like that, you start to doubt that it can be recovered before the end of the season,” said Charles on Saturday.
The 2024 season is disappointing for Ferrari, despite two victories. For this year, the Scuderia prepared a completely new car, but remained behind Red Bull and, after failed updates, took a step back. So what’s next? Preparing another completely new car for the 2025 season and hoping for a miracle? It increasingly looks like Ferrari’s fight for victories should be forgotten until 2026.
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Mercedes also disappointed
Before the summer break, Mercedes had won three out of four races, and if Russell’s success in Austria was largely an accident, in the UK and Belgium the German team won for good reason. It seemed that the problems with the capricious chassis were behind them, but that was not the case: at Zandvoort, Mercedes turned out to be the worst among the top four teams.
Lewis Hamilton failed in qualifying and complained about the car’s handling, and George Russell, despite a good fourth time, lost almost 0.6 seconds to Norris. Problems also arose in the race: due to increased tyre wear, Russell had to make an extra pit stop, which cost him two positions, and Hamilton, starting from 14th place, was only able to move up to eighth.
At Zandvoort, Mercedes turned out to be the worst of the best teams
Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images
The engineers now need to figure out why there wasn’t enough speed on a flying lap, what happened to Hamilton’s car in qualifying and why Russell went too fast. It should be noted that George was only able to drive 29 laps on the hard set, while Leclerc’s stint on the same tyres lasted 48.
It is also worth noting that Mercedes’ problems play into McLaren’s hands: the fewer points Hamilton and Russell take from Norris and Piastri, the better chance Woking has in the fight against Red Bull. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that the problems at Zandvoort were one-off events and already at Monza the German team will be back in the battle for victory. In general, the end of the season promises to be interesting, although the Dutch Grand Prix was a bit boring.
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