McLaren acquire KEY advantage in title fight with Verstappen

Whilst the Dutch Grand Prix failed to enthral audiences it indicated a significant turning point in the title fight.

It was a familiar sight at Zandvoort on Sunday, with a dominant driver leading most of the grand prix in a procession from lights out to finish.

For once, though, it was not home favourite Max Verstappen and Red Bull setting the standard at Zandvoort. This time Lando Norris and McLaren were the pacesetters on the North Sea coast, qualifying over three tenths ahead of Verstappen before going on to beat him to the victory in the race by 23 seconds.

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This may be McLaren’s third win of the season, coming after what is now an extended period in which their MCL38 has been the fastest car in the field, but this was the first in that trio of victories in which they were utterly supreme.

That 23-second advantage with which Norris crosses the chequered line demonstrates a level of imperiousness which had become Verstappen and Red Bull’s trademark between 2022 and this year’s Chinese Grand Prix – searingly quick and relentlessly ruthless in equal combination.

It was a significant step forward for a team who were already threatening to make a late challenge for both championships before the summer break, but whose efforts had been hampered by strategic errors and individual errors from Norris.

What was so impressive about Lando Norris’ Dutch Grand Prix win?

And once again on Sunday Norris almost put what seemed a sure-fire win at risk, losing first place on the run down to Turn 1 as he has done on all four occasions he has qualified in pole position.

The 24-year-old’s poor starts have become a notorious weakness this season as he has aimed to hunt down Verstappen, and his self-criticism in forlorn post-race interviews turned routine in the frustrating race weekends after he took his inaugural race win in Miami.

But in the Netherlands this time he dealt with the early disappointment impressively by settling into a solid, consistent opening stint behind Verstappen, maintaining a gap between one and two seconds while safeguarding his tyres and building up speed in reserve.

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Verstappen’s tyres were waning when Norris began to push on the medium rubber, and when the overtake came down the pit straight on Lap 18 it was effortlessly straightforward – the McLaren the faster car through the final banking and aided by DRS at top speed.

From there, Norris delivered a mature, flawless performance to build an advantage which grew significantly with every lap, while the Red Bull’s pace ebbed away.

By the time the final tour of the circuit came around the Brit was more than a pit-stop’s worth of time ahead of the rest of the field, and he managed to secure an extra championship by setting the fastest lap of the race.

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What is the key advantage McLaren hold over Red Bull?

That Norris was able to set the quickest time on the final lap, when his hard tyres were over 40 laps old, was an ominous representation of both McLaren’s sheer speed and what seems to now be an immensely effective new weapon in their battle with Red Bull and Verstappen – the ability to deliver excellent pace while putting a low burden on their tyres.

While Verstappen was on the radio from the early stages complaining of sliding, and suffering from clearly visible front end snaps in the technical middle sector of the Zandvoort track, Norris’ McLaren was stuck to the tarmac and never seemed to lose performance at any stage of its two tyre stints.

Even the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who both pitted a second time for soft tyres in the closing stages of the race, were unable to beat the time Norris set on his heavily worn hards.

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In essence, the fact that McLaren’s tyre wear is not so much lighter than that of its principal rivals means that weaknesses like Norris’ poor starts are essentially negated.

The papaya outfit now boasts such an advantage that it can afford for its lead driver to make errors, knowing that they can be overcome because of just how much they have out developed Red Bull in the past few months.

Before Zandvoort, Norris needed to beat Verstappen by an average of eight points per race weekend to win the championship. The fastest lap he set on hard tyres meant he did exactly that on Sunday.

If McLaren can maintain that hugely impressive tyre advantage all the way through until Abu Dhabi, then maybe the title fight really could go down to the wire.

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