Lando Norris might be taking a page off of Oscar Piastri‘s notebook! The two McLaren teammates got their career-first Formula 1 Grand Prix this season as Lando took the top spot in Miami and Oscar in Hungary. However, they showed two very different ways of celebrating their maiden victories. On one hand, Lando showed off the party-animal side of him as he drowned in a celebratory mood after his Miami race. On the other, Lando’s 23-year-old papaya army partner seemed absolutely quiet and reserved when he got to know he had bagged the win at the Hungarian GP.

While Norris’ grand race win celebrations made the headlines, Piastri revealed his celebrations only involved his girlfriend, Lily Zneimer. The Aussie racer had said, “I came back to my girlfriend here in Monaco, I just enjoyed spending the time with her. And just kind of reflecting back on the last 24 hours.” And now that Lando Norris has won his second F1 race in the Netherlands by keeping a 22.9s gap to World Champion Max Verstappen, his plans for post-victory celebrations seem similar to Piastri’s.

Lando Norris seemed in a prime position to grab a victory at the Dutch GP after he took pole position on Saturday. The 24-year-old lost his lead early on in the Main Race but regained it when he made a dramatic overtake on Verstappen. However, Max’s Red Bull RB20 seemed no match for Norris’ MCL38 as the papaya army car soared to victory by maintaining a healthy lead during the latter part of the race. When Lando did pull off an excellent finish, he spoke about his plans to celebrate his win, saying, “I just wanna, Idk, I kinda wanna just go to bed. To be honest, when I get into the lead, I wanna push even more. I need a little bit of time to relax as well.”

So, Lando wants to take some time for himself rather than going out partying with his friends after the Dutch GP. And in one week’s time, the Italian Grand Prix will be upon him–but how does his boss Zak Brown expect him to fare in Monza?

Lando Norris’ boss Zak Brown wants to focus on defeating Red Bull at the Italian GP

With Lando winning the Dutch GP by surpassing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the points gap between McLaren and the Austrian outfit is down to just 30 points. At a time like this, the CEO of the Woking outfit, Zak Brown, wants to focus on capturing the Championship lead in Italy rather than celebrating the victory that Lando got in the Netherlands. So, he said, “We clearly have a fast car and have some fun stuff coming for Monza, so I think we will be ready. But I think Red Bull will be quick there.”

The upsurge in its performance that McLaren has shown in 2024 is truly one for the books. Lando Norris’ P1 finish in Zandvoort has already highlighted some similarities between him and past legendary McLaren drivers. Before Lando, it was Lewis Hamilton who won a race after grabbing pole as a McLaren recruit in 2008. Also, Lando has joined Alain Prost as the only two papaya army racers who have managed to grab pole positions at the Dutch GP. These stats just go to show how Lando and Oscar might have already brought back a period of McLaren dominance after decades of failure.

Thus, the Championship dream seems close to Lando Norris and even closer to McLaren. The Italian GP might prove to be an important juncture that will decide if the points gap between Norris and Verstappen as well as between McLaren and Red Bull go down–but do you think it will?