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Lando Norris has not given up on the prospect of a Dutch Grand Prix victory but realistically is fully expecting Max Verstappen to clinch his place in F1 history.
Norris starts from second on the grid at Zandvoort after being out-qualified by two-time F1 champion Verstappen by a staggering half-a-second, albeit conceding to mistakes on his final lap that cost him three-tenths.
It is the second time this season Verstappen and Norris form the front row, as was the case in the British GP when they went on to finish one-two, a victory for the Dutchman that has been part of his current eight in a row.
Another triumph, and in front of his adoring ‘Orange Army’ of fans will see Verstappen equal Sebastian Vettel’s all-time record of nine successive victories achieved in 2013 en route to clinching the last of his four titles.
Norris would naturally love to bring Verstappen’s run to an end, albeit he said: “I’ll challenge him for probably two laps, then he’ll drive away.
“There’s quite a bit of tyre degradation here, which is not our forté, let’s say, when it comes into play. We start to struggle quite a bit in certain corners.
“But we’ve improved the car since Friday (practice), so I want to be a little bit more hopeful. I’m not going to say no, like I’m not going to give it a try.
“But Max is always on another level when it comes to Sunday, with tyre degradation and race pace. There are opportunities, but it’s going to be tough.”
After a slight shift in McLaren’s upward momentum in the final race of the first period of the season in Belgium prior to the summer break, the MCL60 again suggested it was comfortably the best of the rest in qualifying in the Netherlands, even if Oscar Piastri failed to make the most of his opportunity after a poor final run.
The upgrades that made their way onto the car in Austria and Britain suddenly propelled McLaren into the mix, and although there was a stutter step at Spa-Francorchamps, a new rear wing and beam wing at this circuit has played its part.
Norris cannot help but continue to be impressed with the improvements that have been made.
“We were pretty reassured after Silverstone that things were looking a lot better,” said Norris. “Even after Austria, we were confident things had taken a big step forward – and they did as we went on to score two podiums.
“We had a tricky Spa, but still a P7, and we’ve come to a track which we know suits us a bit more and we’ve proven it again.
“So, the team has done an excellent job – I’ve said it countless times – but they’ve really made a massive step forward from where we were to where we are now.
“And days like this (in qualifying), when you reward them, is always a good thing.
“We’ll keep pushing. I keep saying we’re not far away, but at the same time, we’re still quite far. So yeah, we’ll keep our heads down.”
