The biggest story to come out of this season so far—apart from Red Bull having won every race so far—has been McLaren’s turnaround. It went from scrambling for positions amongst the backmarkers to fighting at the front right behind Red Bull. This turnaround came courtesy of the major upgrade overhaul McLaren introduced at the Austrian GP, after which Lando Norris maximized the revamped MCL60’s performance to the fullest. Having headed into the summer break on a positive note, the Brit looked to continue his good run of form at the Dutch GP. Things were looking well for him until they just weren’t.

Following a mega-qualifying performance that saw him line up in P2 right alongside Max Verstappen, Norris was tipped for a podium finish tonight. Given the pace McLaren showed leading up to the race, it seemed almost inevitable. But just like in 2021 at the Russian GP, the rain literally rained on Norris’ parade and ruined his chances, making him lash out at his team.

Lando Norris was haunted by the ghosts of his 2021 past

Within seconds of starting the race on soft tires—much like almost the rest of the field—the skies opened up, and drivers and teams had to make a decision whether to transition to wet-weather tires or not. Just like the decision that lost him the win at the 2021 Russian GP—where he led most of the race—McLaren decided to keep him out on slicks and wait out the rain. Spoiler alert! It was the wrong decision. Again.

As Verstappen and Alonso ahead of him continued on their slicks, Norris followed suit, struggling to find grip. Seeing how slow he was going, you would’ve thought Zak Brown & Co. would’ve brought him in the first chance they got. But instead of doing that, they let him stay out an extra lap—even when he didn’t want to—and that led to his x-rated outburst. It revealed just how bad the strategic state of McLaren is. 

Visibly struggling and losing positions in the process, Norris got onto the radio and said, “Box, mate. We’re too slow,” to which his engineer replied, “We are faster than Inters cars.” Norris obviously couldn’t believe what he was hearing and had enough, practically shouting on the radio, “What the… Are you f**king stupid, mate?” The team asked him to pit on Lap 4, and he emerged at the back of the grid, and all his effort during qualifying went to waste. Even though he finished in the points, P7 is no consolation for the race win he was hoping for—one that Verstappen was destined for and achieved.

Read More: Despite a 0.537s Gap, Lando Norris Warns Max Verstappen With an Insight Into Andrea Stella’s Masterplan

Max Verstappen painted the track orange despite Lando Norris’ threats

The Dutch GP, without the Orange Army, just wouldn’t have had the same atmosphere it did. And had Verstappen not got the record-equaling win tonight, it’s safe to say the atmosphere around Zandvoort wouldn’t have been the same either. Despite Norris expressing his intent on winning the race, Verstappen held on through the changing weather conditions and came out victorious. 

Talking to the media before the race, Norris said, “Turn 1 [take the fight to Max]. Try to replicate Silverstone, and try to keep it a bit longer. If Max stays ahead, he will pull away.” That looked the case until the rain came down, and Verstappen had to pit. But in typical Verstappen fashion, he charged through the field, kept his head down, and drove his car to victory in a near-perfect race. As Norris said after qualifying, “In these conditions, every now and then, you hope Max makes a mistake, and he doesn’t.”

Do you think Lando Norris will ever be on the winning side of a race with changing weather conditions?

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