Lando Norris (P10, 1 pt): 7.5/10
Unfortunately Zandvoort will probably be remembered as the race in which McLaren lost the battle for third place in the 2021 constructors championship. They came into the weekend with a slender 3.5 point advantage over Ferrari but leave with an 11.5 point deficit after Lando Norris was the only one of their drivers to finish in the top ten. It could all have been very different if Norris hadn't been badly caught out in the second round of qualifying, the two ill-timed red flags costing him a place in Q3 and consigning him to a disappointing 12th on the grid for the race. He battled hard but this isn't a circuit that encourages overtaking: an extended first stint on medium tyres saw him peak in seventh place on lap 41, but after his switch to the hard compound he was down to 11th. Daniel Ricciardo made it easy for him to pass a few laps later, and Norris then twice traded places with Sergio Perez before crossing the line in a hard-won tenth.
Esteban Ocon (P9, 2 pts): 7.5/10
After a strong start to the weekend - seventh in FP1 and an impressive third behind the two Ferraris on Friday afternoon - Esteban Ocon lost his way somewhat in final practice but bounced back to make it into the final round of qualifying later in the day, finally securing eighth place on the grid one place ahead of his team mate Fernando Alonso. When it came to the race, Alonso pulled off a successful early jump on Ocon who in turn moved ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi. After that early drama, Ocon settled into P8 for the first 31 laps until his pit stop. Once those stops shook out he found himself back in eighth again, and still staring at Alonso's rear wing. That would remain the case until four laps from the finish when a recovering Sergio Perez on fresh tyres inserted himself between the two Alpines before the chequered flag came out, leaving Ocon with a net loss of one place for the day in ninth.
