Max Verstappen has more championships than Lando Norris has race wins – 3 to 2. It was that supreme experience in play that allowed him to snatch the race lead from the McLaren driver at the start. But it wasn’t just a driver-level slip-up from Norris. His reaction time was the same as Verstappen’s, but his MCL38 didn’t cooperate. Surprisingly, this is exactly what McLaren addressed after qualifying on Saturday, only for their words to backfire on race day.

Norris faced a similar problem at the Hungarian GP, where he began on Pole. There was a glitch on his McLaren, which didn’t let him find second gear when accelerating off the line. But because that instance made it 3-for-3 P1 fumbles for Norris, he took most of the flak. Ahead of the Dutch GP, McLaren addressed this issue pressing issue. While Norris brushed aside the ‘meaningless’ stats, chief designer Rob Marshall was “not worried about our start performance.” He added, “You look at the numbers. I think we’ve been getting off the line pretty reasonably.”

Norris also elaborated on how race starts haven’t been his “forte”, but he considered himself “one of the best average starters.” However, at the Dutch GP, Max Verstappen yet again exposed McLaren‘s incompetency in race starts. Norris’ MCL38 couldn’t find traction and went into wheelspin, as he explained post-race. “I went straight into wheelspin. I need to talk to my team to understand if it’s from me or the car,” the Zandvoort conqueror said.

Incidentally, his Hungarian GP failure was attributed to wheelspin as well by McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella. Though he believed Norris “could’ve controlled the wheelspin better”, he also shouldered the responsibility to provide a better setup. Nonetheless, the Woking outfit has turned its MCL38 into a rocket ship, and Norris was very grateful to his team for taking him one step closer to his championship dream.

Lando Norris overjoyed after outclassing Max Verstappen in ‘near-perfect’ Dutch GP

After retaking the race lead in Lap 18, it was smooth sailing for Lando Norris. He extended his lead to Max Verstappen by 22.9 seconds by the chequered flag. Red Bull’s RB20 looked like a shadow of its former self. The 3-time champion termed it a “difficult race” on his team radio – a rare message. But the position that he lost was welcomed with open arms by Norris.

“It feels amazing,” the Briton told F1TV post-race, adding, “I wouldn’t say (it was) a perfect race because of Lap 1 again. But afterward, it was beautiful. The pace was very strong. The car was unbelievable today. So I could get comfortable, I could push, and I could pass Max, which was the main thing. So honestly, quite a straightforward race. Still tough, but very enjoyable.”

In his 6th year with McLaren, Norris finally has a championship-contending car. His loyalty has finally paid off. If those smaller issues of wheelspin and race starts are sorted, championship trophies aren’t far away. Norris’ drivers’ standings gap to Verstappen is still 70 points, but McLaren’s constructors’ standings gap to Red Bull is a mere 30 points. It could all change in the matter of one race and the iconic Italian GP up next could be the game-changer.