Norris Beats Antonelli to Claim Final Dutch GP Win

Lando Norris and McLaren beat Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli to take a masterful strategic victory in a compelling Dutch Grand Prix.
A topsy-turvy race started amid chaos as Max Verstappen crashed his Red Bull at high speed on a damp track at the end of the first lap, leading to a red flag.
Antonelli took the lead from Norris at the restart, but through two pit stops, Norris built a tyre offset to fight back and pass Antonelli for the win.
Lewis Hamilton was leading the race at the time, just ahead of the battling pair, out of sync on his pit stops, but Norris went past him further around the same lap to take the lead on track.
A late virtual safety car led to some team orders controversy at Mercedes as George Russell was ordered to let Antonelli past into second place, leaving him vulnerable to Hamilton.
But Russell, with help from a further late virtual safety car to allow marshals to recover debris on track, held Hamilton off to take the final podium position.
Further back, Fernando Alonso earned Aston Martin-Honda their first points since the incident-strewn Monaco race with an excellent drive on a one-stop strategy to ninth place.
The result leaves Antonelli with a 59-point championship lead over Russell, the gap unchanged from before the weekend.
Russell is on the same points as Hamilton, but classified ahead by virtue of his two wins to Hamilton’s one. Norris, after his second consecutive victory, closes to 83 points off the lead, and now has to be a faint contender for the title if McLaren can keep their momentum.