McLaren is basking in the glow of Lando Norris' impressive victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, and both CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella showered the Briton with praise.
Norris clinched his second career win in F1 with a commanding performance at Zandvoort, a display that inflicted a crushing defeat on championship leader Max Verstappen.
Despite losing his pole position advantage to his Red Bull rival at the start of the race, Norris reclaimed the lead on lap 18 of 72 and built an insurmountable gap, ultimately crossing the finish line more than 22 seconds ahead of the Dutch driver.
Reflecting on the his driver’s triumph, Stella expressed his admiration for Norris but also his surprise with the latter’s supremacy at the wheel of McLaren’s MCL38.
“We would have never thought that coming to Zandvoort, which has been a difficult venue for us in the past, we could put together such a strong performance in qualifying and then confirm this in the race,” he explained.
“I’m just very happy for the team, very happy for Lando himself.”
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Stella highlighted Norris’ flawless execution throughout the weekend.
“I think he has just proven the level of competitiveness he can pull off. We know that, we’ve always known that,” he added.
“He’s been absolutely faultless this weekend, and a little bit of a shame for Oscar because he had the performance to be definitely part of the podium, and I think he had the performance to put Max under some pressure.
“Unfortunately, he got stuck behind Leclerc and he couldn’t overtake.”
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Zak Brown was equally impressed with Norris’ performance, particularly the 24-year-old’s margin of victory, which was the largest seen in any race this season.
“[The margin] was pretty awesome,” the American told Sky Sports F1. “Lando drove perfectly and the team did a great job, the strategy was great.
“We were close to getting both on the podium, but that was a big win with fastest lap at the end.”
Brown admitted that while the team had been confident in their pace all weekend, the extent of Norris’s dominance was a pleasant surprise.
“We knew we were fast all weekend so I’m not shocked, but I guess I’m pleasantly surprised at the size of the gap,” he added. “Once Lando got in clean air he controlled it pretty easily, so that was great to see.
“It was pretty clear he was faster, so it was nice to see him pass on the track because around then we were starting to think about pit stop strategy and undercut/overcut, but next thing we know he flew past him and pulled away.
“He definitely was able to control this race, and we’ll see what happens in Monza.”
Norris' victory was another significant boost for McLaren, who have now cut their deficit to Red Bull in the Constructors' championship to just 30 points.
The team’s strong performance at Zandvoort, aided by a package of upgrades that proved particularly effective in clean air, has raised hopes for continued success in the upcoming races.
As the F1 circus moves to Monza, McLaren will be looking to build on this momentum, with both Norris and Piastri poised to challenge their rivals once again.
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