Dutch GP Analysis: Norris monstrous. Ferrari-Leclerc on the podium, the smile returns

This is how you grow, this is how you become champions: Lando Norris has triumphed in Zandvoort, a track that belongs to the nobility of Formula 1, despite having wrong start again. But instead of reacting immediately to Verstappen’s overtaking, he calmly waited for the right moment, 17 laps later, and made the overtaking. Then, as he himself said with relief, it was all easy, downhill.

Winning at Max Verstappen’s homewho had beaten him up in Zeltweg, had the taste of a revenge full of meanings and hopes. Now the three-time world champion knows he has a more mature rival, more tempered by the small incidents along the way that are inevitable in a growth phase. You don’t become a champion from one day to the next and Norris, if he continues as he did in Holland, will reach the top in the right way. In the meantime he imposed himself in a clear way, with a pace impossible for all his rivals thanks also to a McLaren-Mercedes that continues to grow and goes from strength to strength race after race, so much so that now the constructors’ championship becomes accessible while Verstappen’s 70-point advantage in the drivers’ championship seems like climbing Everest. abysmal gap of 22”8 inflicted on Red Bull, together with an incredible fastest lap on the last pass, explain the values ​​on the field at Zandvoort better than many words.

If McLaren’s success was widely expected, what surprised everyone was Leclerc’s third place: Charles had said on Saturday that a miracle was needed to get on the podium, in the race the miracle happened not so much for the placing – identical to the one achieved in Belgium before the summer break – but because Ferrari finished just 2.6s behind Verstappen’s Red Bull. Neither Leclerc nor Vasseur can explain what happened, it was probably a happy combination of factors, the first of which is the temperature of the asphalt that made the tyres work well, attenuating the usual limits in the fast corners. In these conditions Charles was able to take a risk and run a wonderful race, if you consider that, in an endless duel full of driving refinements and acrobatics, the Monegasque resisted the comeback of Oscar Piastri who had tyres 9 laps fresher than his.

Instead, Mercedes was missing, dominating in the previous two Grands Prix and non-existent in Zandvoort. The only breath of joy and optimism coming from Stuttgart is the announcement that in the first tests in Monza, on Friday, there will be the absolute debut of Kimi Antonelli, meaning that for Italy a new era in Formula 1 begins.

But returning to Holland one cannot ignore the great performance by Carlos Sainz, who despite the very few laps in testing placed fifth with a pace that was also podium-worthy. Another good news for Maranello, which in the Italian GP will bring substantial changes to the car. And maybe we will start to really enjoy ourselves.