Norris confident McLaren now has the fastest car in Formula 1 after Dutch GP win

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

Zandvoort, The Netherlands — In a resounding proclamation following his triumph at the Dutch Grand Prix, Lando Norris confidently stated that his McLaren is now the fastest car in Formula One.

Norris clinched his second victory of the season at Zandvoort, finishing ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen by an impressive 22 seconds. This win marks a pivotal moment for McLaren, as they appear to have overcome early-season struggles to establish themselves as the team to beat.

Despite his impressive form, Norris still trails Verstappen by 70 points in the drivers' championship, with nine races remaining.

Throughout the early stages of the season, Verstappen's Red Bull was the undeniable frontrunner, securing victories in four of the first five races. However, Norris now believes that the dynamics have shifted in favor of McLaren.

"Oh, 100%, yeah," Norris declared. "Today, this whole weekend, I think we've had the best car."

He further elaborated:

"I think we've, on average, had the best car, for sure. We've not had a dominant car at any point this season, I would say. Obviously, we see and know more information than people do on the outside, so we can comment in a much more factual way than people can who are just watching on TV and taking their picks and guesses. We've had, on average, the best car."

Norris was candid in acknowledging that McLaren has not capitalized on every opportunity:

"You know, we probably should have won two, three more races as a team, but we didn't. And we're not saying anything more than that."

When queried about his prospects in the championship battle against Verstappen, Norris remained pragmatic:

"I mean, I've been fighting for the championship since the first race of the year. There's no sudden decision of now. I need to do better. I've been working hard the whole year and I'm still 70 points behind Max. So it's pretty stupid to think of anything at the minute. I just take one race at a time and just keep doing what I'm doing now because there's no point to think ahead and think of the rest. I don't care about it at the minute. Yeah, focused on one race at a time. So it's not a question that I need to get asked every single weekend."

As the Formula One season approaches its climax, Norris' confidence in McLaren's capabilities may be the decisive factor in whether he can close the gap to Verstappen and mount a serious title challenge. With the next race just around the corner, all eyes will be on whether Norris can sustain this newfound momentum.

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