Norris finally gives himself ‘a bit of credit’ after Dutch GP triumph

Lando Norris isn’t exactly known for handing himself compliments. If anything, the reigning world champion has made a habit of looking for the shortcomings in his own performances, even after some of his biggest achievements.

So when Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix winner allowed himself a rare pat on the back after his triumph at Zandvoort, it said as much about his growing confidence as it did about another perfectly judged afternoon of racing.

In the Netherlands, Norris followed his Hungarian Grand Prix triumph with a second consecutive victory, beating Kimi Antonelli to the chequered flag after a composed drive that put McLaren's improving MCL40 firmly back in the spotlight.

More importantly, Norris believes the result was not simply a product of having the fastest car. He believes he made the difference.

Norris finally gives himself some credit

Mercedes championship leader Kimi Antonelli suggested after the race that McLaren now possessed the fastest car, but Norris was quick to reject that assessment.

The Briton argued that the Silver Arrows remain formidable and that his own execution had played a decisive role in turning Sunday's opportunity into another victory.

“They’re not going to say it themselves if they just got beaten today,” he said. “So I don’t think it’s true. I think if I didn’t get Kimi when I overtook him, I don’t think I would have won the race today.”

Asked to assess where McLaren had found the edge, Norris eventually arrived at an answer that he might not have been so willing to give himself in previous seasons.

“You know, it’s hard to say, but I also know how good a job I’m doing behind the wheel. And of course, I never want to overtalk about myself. I’m always the complete opposite,” he explained.

“But for once, I would give myself a little bit of credit that I feel like I’m doing a better job than everyone. And I think that can also make a difference.”

It’s quite an admission from a driver who has frequently been his own harshest critic.

Norris' championship-winning campaign last year was accompanied by relentless self-scrutiny, while mistakes and missed opportunities often seemed to occupy his thoughts longer than his successes.

At Zandvoort, however, there was no such reluctance to acknowledge his own contribution.

McLaren is now beating Mercedes, not chasing it

The transformation is particularly striking given how far McLaren has come during 2026.

After a troubled opening stretch that included non-starts in Australia and China, as well as consecutive retirements in Canada and Monaco, the team's relentless development programme has gradually changed the picture.

Norris' podium in Barcelona, Sprint podiums at Silverstone and Zandvoort, and now back-to-back Grand Prix victories have turned McLaren into a genuine threat to Mercedes.

Norris nevertheless believes team papaya’s Brackley rival still has the more complete package.

“We certainly have a car now capable of beating them;” he said. “Even like we looked at yesterday in qualifying, but we didn’t win yesterday. And we didn’t really change much. But I worked a lot on my driving.

“I want to believe more than everyone else again. And we turned things around today. So we certainly have a very similar car, I would say, in both Mercedes. But I think they have a better all-round performing car than what we do.”

That makes Norris' assessment of his own performance even more significant. He is not claiming McLaren has suddenly become unbeatable. Instead, he believes the gap has narrowed sufficiently for driver execution to become a defining factor again.

Read also:

• Dutch GP: Norris triumphs as F1 bids farewell to Zandvoort

And at Zandvoort, Norris reckons he delivered.

“We are more specifically focused on high speed.” He said. “Turns 7 and 8 were just our biggest two corners where we gained that time today.

“If I make one mistake in qualifying yesterday in P3, P4, P5, I’m not going to win. And then no one’s going to be saying these things.

“So the fact that I’m just doing a good job is, I think, why people are saying it.”

That final observation may be the most revealing of all.

Norris is not suddenly convinced he is infallible. He is simply beginning to recognise when he gets things right – and, for a driver who has spent so much time dissecting his failures, that represents a meaningful change.

Two straight victories have lifted him to fourth in the championship, 83 points behind Antonelli with plenty of racing still to come.

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