The Red Bull mistake that let McLaren's poor Zandvoort start off the hook

Lando Norris dominated the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, toppling Max Verstappen by a crushing margin of over 22 seconds. But how was the McLaren driver able to achieve such a feat and why did a failed Red Bull gamble exaggerate the margin?

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“Foot to the floor, the lights are out.” There’s no chance Lando Norris thought this at the start of Formula 1’s 2024 Dutch Grand Prix he won for McLaren. Not in 0.28 seconds.

Home hero Max Verstappen had clocked the exact same time reacting to the start lights extinguishing at Zandvoort and, with his impressive pole position lap the day before, that should have been enough for Norris.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.