British driver Lando Norris of McLaren won the Dutch Grand Prix, the fifteenth event of the MS F1 series. Local Max Verstappen from Red Bull finished second, Monaco’s Charles Leclerc in Ferrari finished third.
Photo: ČTK / AP / Patrick Post
Lando Norris at McLaren celebrates winning the Dutch GP.
Norris entered the race from his fourth career pole position, but took the win for the first time. It was the second of his career and also the second of the season after the triumph in the sixth race of the year in Miami. P
for Verstappen, the darling of the Dutch stands, it was the 200th race in his career. After them, he is still at the head of the current championship standings, Norris is still second.
The winner of the qualification, Norris, did not get a start and the quick Verstappen immediately moved to the front of the race. The opening laps were completed without collisions, and the unsuccessful start of the McLarens was underlined by Piastri, who was initially third, through which Russell got through.
However, Verstappen’s lead did not increase and Norris sensed a chance. In the 17th round, his attack on the first row did not work out, but in the next one he did, while the Dutchman gave up his place without a fight. In the 27th lap, Russell stayed in the pits for too long, losing the chance to attack Leclerc.
The leader of the starting field, Norris, moved shortly after that and although his mechanics did not avoid complications either, he was again the leader when he returned to the track. At the halfway point of the race, he had a lead of about 10 seconds over Verstappen, who had a similar gap to third-placed Leclerc.
At that time, the marshals confirmed a five-second penalty for Stroll for too high a speed in the pits. Norris did not allow drama, he created a lead of more than 20 seconds on Verstappen.
He achieved the most dominant victory of the current season. Norris finally got an extra point for the fastest lap. Nine races remain until the end of the MS F1 series. The next, last one in Europe is scheduled for September 1st in Italy.
Dutch Grand Prix (72 laps, 1 lap: 4.259 km, total: 306.587 km)
1. Lando Norris (V. Brit./McLaren) 1:30:45.519 h., 2. Max Verstappen (Hol./Red Bull) +22.896 sec., 3. Charles Leclerc (Mon./Ferrari) +25.439, 4 .Oscar Piastri (Aus./McLaren) +27.337, 5. Carlos Sainz (Sp./Ferrari) +32.137, 6. Sergio Perez (Mex./Red Bull) +39.542, 7. George Russell (V. Brit./Mercedes ) +44.617, 8. Lewis Hamilton (V. Brit./Mercedes) +49.599, 9. Pierre Gasly (Fr./Alpine), 10. Fernando Alonso (Sp./Aston Martin), 11. Nico Hülkenberg (German/ Haas), 12. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus./Racing Bulls), 13. Lance Stroll (Can./Aston Martin), 14. Alexander Albon (Thai./Williams), 15. Esteban Ocon (Fr./Alpine), 16 .Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams), 17. Juki Cunoda (Japan/Racing Bulls), 18. Kevin Magnussen (Den./Haas) all +1 lap, 19. Valtteri Bottas (Fin./Kick Sauber), 20. Chou Kuan-yü (China/Kick Sauber) both + 2 laps
Lando Norris, winner: “I felt very good, we had a great pace and an excellent car. When I got ahead of Max, I was already running my own race.”
Max Verstappen, 2nd place: “I tried to be as far ahead as possible. I went to the maximum, but it was clear that we were not fast enough. I tried to come in at least second. The audience was fantastic.”
Charles Leclerc, 3rd place: “It was a difficult weekend. We have been struggling since Friday, then we found speed. We managed the strategy well. I didn’t know that we would have such a pace in the race and I certainly would not have thought that we would be on the podium.”
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
