“Fernando Earned the Position”: Civil War Heats up at McLaren as Lando Norris Blamed for Miserable Dutch GP

After rejuvenating their ranks with an upgraded MCL60, every McLaren fan thought that the good times were about to roll. However, the upturn in their pace turned out to be a damning reality about the other aspects they’ve been lacking at. And the worst of those gremlins were exposed during a torrid Dutch Grand Prix for Lando Norris and Co. After a stunning qualifying effort to secure a front-row start, the Brit eventually finished a sorry 7th on Sunday. And what started as a long day ended like a dream for Fernando Alonso.

The interchangeable conditions surely did add a layer of complexity and treacherousness to the entire event. That being said, the Woking-based team cannot hide behind that excuse as others, who started off worse, actually ended up on the podium, like Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso.

McLaren throws Lando Norris under the bus

The lap 1 strategy gaffe provoked Norris to throw angry expletives towards his team on his radio comms. But in light of the Dutch GP fiasco, McLaren TP, Andrea Stella has chosen to cite Alonso’s mega drive from 5th to 2nd to put the 23-year-old down.

In the aftermath of the race, Stella was quoted as saying, “So, Fernando earned the position on the track, but behind Fernando he could have found the position for Lando. So, the missed opportunity includes a potentially missed podium.”

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McLaren has outrightly blamed Norris for squandering P2, but what about the rest of the miserable afternoon?

Norris tears into an incompetent McLaren team

Norris has had far too many near misses with F1 glory. And now, with hindsight in full effect and the Brit still ailing from the wounds of the Dutch GP, he has come out with a scathing assessment of what has been pulling him back this year.

He was quoted as telling the media, “It’s clear we made the wrong decision. We made a bad decision and it’s something we’ll review and discuss because I guess we have made a couple this season. We’ve lost too many positions and also the points throughout this year with a couple of these things.”

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Is Lando Norris finally putting his foot down at McLaren?