Lando Norris declared he is doing a better job than every other driver after a superb win at the Dutch Grand Prix – where Max Verstappen walked away from a huge crash at his final home race.
The 26-year-old reeled in championship leader Kimi Antonelli at Zandvoort to clinch back-to-back wins and further raise hope that he could yet defend his title.
Norris leaves the Dutch seaside having moved fourth in the standings but still 83 points behind the Italian – with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton 59 points back from the leader.
Mercedes are wary of the looming threat of McLaren’s Norris, with Antonelli branding them the new fastest team on the grid and Russell declaring that the papaya outfit are the ones to beat.
open image in gallery“They are not going to say themselves are they? I don’t think it’s true,” Norris retorted.
“Mercedes have a better all-round performing car. I also know how good of a job I’m doing behind the wheel.
“For once I will give myself a little bit of credit that I feel I am doing a better job than everyone.
“I think that can make a difference. We have a car now capable of beating them. We didn’t win yesterday (sprint race) and we didn’t change much but I worked a lot on my driving – I want to believe more than everyone else.
“I make one mistake we are P4, P5. So the fact that I am doing a good job is the reason why people are saying it.”
open image in galleryNorris banished post-race sprint race negativity to deliver a commanding drive in Sunday’s main event.
He was jumped off the line by Antonelli following a red flag for Verstappen’s crash, after the race had begun in damp conditions, but McLaren made the key move by pitting him later than the Italian.
That enabled Norris to attack on fresher rubber and he got the job done, blasting past Antonelli round the outside of turn one on lap 54.
“When the car gives me what I want and I am driving at the level I am now, I can win races,” Norris said.
“I was able to force him to make mistakes, force them to do something with strategy.”
open image in galleryNorris refused to declare himself back in the title hunt but would accept that Sunday’s win was among his best.
“I made it tough for myself but a good race. Probably one of my better wins. We had to fight for it,” he added.
Mercedes executed team orders, asking Russell to allow Antonelli through on fresher tyres as he came home second. Russell then held off Hamilton over the closing laps to retain third, with Charles Leclerc fourth ahead of Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri.
The final Dutch Grand Prix before it drops off the calendar began in crushing fashion for the packed grandstands, with their hero Verstappen suffering a crunching high-speed crash at the end of lap one.
The four-time world champion, revered in these parts, appeared to dip a wheel onto the kerb on the inside of the 18-degree banked final bend before sliding across the track and thundering into the barriers.
He swiftly confirmed he was OK, before saying post-race: “It was a decent hit but I’ve had worse.”
He added on Sky Sports: “I could see a bit of a dry line coming and I thought I could accelerate up but it accelerated a lot and it caught me out.
“I hit the wall. It could have been a lot worse because there were a lot of cars behind me but luckily that all went well.”
Ferrari became engaged in a radio battle with their drivers as Hamilton asked to be let through by Leclerc. The Monegasque was asked to pit but resisted for a lap.
Hamilton said on the radio: “Great way of wasting time guys, good job.”
He later told Sky Sports: “We couldn’t win this race but to win championships you have to pick up every point and the last few races have been difficult with penalties and stuff and then, today, I lost several seconds behind Charles which I think ultimately would have made the difference at the end.”