Formula One

[Jimbuna]

McLaren's Lando Norris fought back to take a dominant victory in the Dutch Grand Prix despite losing the lead to Max Verstappen's Red Bull at the start.

Norris, for whom starts and first laps have been a weakness in recent races, was passed almost immediately when he had too much wheel spin off the line.

But such was the pace in his McLaren that he re-passed Verstappen on lap 18, before the pit stops, and romped away into the distance.

Charles Leclerc took the final podium position, belying his pre-race pessimism, fending off the McLaren of Oscar Piastri for the final 27 laps.

Verstappen appeared to sense the way the race was going even while he was still leading.

The Dutchman, who has monopolised this event since it returned to the calendar in 2021, was complaining about a lack of grip from very early in the race.

His defence of the lead when Norris caught him was half-hearted, especially in the context of his normally ultra-robust defensive tactics, and the McLaren swept into the lead down the inside line at the first corner, Tarzan.

Once in front, Norris pulled away at about half a second a lap and there was nothing Verstappen could do to prevent losing his home race for the first time since its return after a 36-year absence.

[Jimbuna]

[Buddahaid]

Notable in this race was how clean the whole thing was. Nobody retired, no safety cars, and no red flags. Only one in race penalty going to Stroll for speeding in the pit lane but an unsafe release was also noted for Gasly.

That said, the Porche Supercup race also ran at Zandvoort today was full of elbows out bumping action.

45,000 fans biked to the track!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

45,000 fans biked to the track!

Brings back memories of when I was living in Holland...more bikes than cars

[Jimbuna]

Charles Leclerc pulled off an extraordinary home win for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix, ahead of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Ferrari chose a daring one-stop strategy for Leclerc, improvising mid-race, to vault him in front of the McLarens - who chose the conventional two-stop approach.

That left Leclerc hanging on in the closing laps from the rapidly closing McLarens and he just managed to resist them, winning by 2.6 seconds to send the tifosi in the grandstands wild.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen could finish only sixth, and Norris cut his championship lead by eight points to 62 with eight races to go, thanks to Norris grabbing the fastest lap before the chequered flag.

McLaren are now just eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship.

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

Lando Norris drove an extraordinary race to catch and pass title rival Max Verstappen as his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri won an engrossing Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The race ended under a virtual safety car after a crash between Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who collided while disputing third place with two laps to go.

Piastri pulled off an audacious pass on Charles Leclerc, who had led from pole position, to take the lead shortly after both had made their only pit stop for fresh tyres and held on for the rest of the race under immense pressure from the Ferrari.

And Norris fought back after his late pit stop, having started from 15th place on the hard tyre while the leaders chose mediums, to pass Verstappen with three laps to go.

He took fourth place, promoted from sixth by the Perez-Sainz crash, one ahead of Verstappen, who had started nine places ahead of the McLaren driver.

The result means Norris, who also scored the point for fastest lap, reduced Verstappen’s championship lead by three points on a day he would have started expecting to lose ground.

Norris is 59 points behind Verstappen with seven races to go and a maximum of 206 still available.

And McLaren have taken the lead in the constructors’ championship from Red Bull, taking a 20-point lead.

[Jimbuna]

[Buddahaid]

Norris wins in Singapore and is now only 52 points behind Verstappen. It's possible this year could be the biggest come from behind ever and remarkable there were no yellow flags during this street track race which may be the first time in the fifteen-race history.