Dutch GP takeaways: McLaren legit threat to slumping Red Bull

We offer our takeaways following each race weekend this year and continue the 2024 schedule with the Hungarian GP.

Moments that decided the race 👀

McLaren sends message to Red Bull, Verstappen

McLaren went into Max Verstappen's backyard and made a gigantic statement.

In the first race back since the summer break, Lando Norris didn't just beat his championship rival; he obliterated him. Norris, who shared the front row with Verstappen, took pole by a whopping 0.356 of a second and then stormed to the largest margin of victory all season with a 22.8-second advantage.

It's another incredible start for McLaren. The team began the season with Norris finishing over 48 seconds behind Verstappen in Bahrain. So, how did McLaren and Norris get here?

Of course, McLaren's Miami upgrade package unlocked a new ceiling for the car. In the races since, it's been no worse than slightly below the Red Bull and as good as the car of the field. But in Zandvoort, the McLaren looked like it had taken another massive step, which might be thanks to another huge performance package and a Red Bull slip-up.

McLaren brought four performance upgrades, with changes to its front brake scoop, front suspension, rear suspension, and floor edge. It also brought circuit-specific updates to the rear and beam wings. The result was a massacre.

McLaren's chief designer, Rob Marshall, called the upgrades "more risky." Ultimately, the risk didn't just turn into a reward; it may have flipped the championship on its head. With nine races remaining, McLaren is only 30 points behind Red Bull in the constructors' standings, while Norris is 70 points from Verstappen in the drivers' standings. Game on.

Red Bull needs answers

A beatdown like the one McLaren served Red Bull at the Dutch Grand Prix has been brewing for a long time.

Red Bull's RB20 hasn't appeared as dominant as it initially did in quite some time. Verstappen's natural ability, the team's savvy strategy, and McLaren's execution errors hid RB20's recent weaknesses. But there was nowhere to hide in Zandvoort.

The warning signs were there before Norris took the checkered flag 22.8 seconds ahead of Verstappen. Previous advantages like tire preservation seemingly evaporated overnight after what started as issues with bumps and curbs. Red Bull admitted in Zandvoort that it might have gone down the wrong development path, which in Formula 1 is signaling blood in the water to the likes of McLaren.

Verstappen reportedly drove with an old floor specification this weekend. As McLaren brings upgrades to continue progressing, Red Bull is going backward to figure out where it went wrong.

The Dutch national anthem has been put on pause until Red Bull finds answers to its RB20 problems and develops solutions to fix those issues. Considering McLaren's form, it may be a while until that happens.

Driver of the Day 🙌

Charles Leclerc: It's not how you start, but how you finish. A disappointing qualification had Leclerc starting sixth for the Grand Prix and teammate Carlos Sainz starting 11th. The Monegasque driver wasn't quiet about his frustrations, saying it would take a "miracle" to be on the podium in Zandvoort. At lights out, Leclerc proved that his sheer skill, not a miracle, would put him on the podium. He jumped ahead of Perez immediately off the spot and undercut George Russell and Oscar Piastri to move into third. Leclerc also held off Piastri's lightning-fast McLaren for the last 30 laps under constant pressure. Leclerc promised postrace that more upgrades would be available in Monza, and the Tifosi will cross their fingers for another Ferrari podium.

They said what? 🗣️

Zak Brown on Norris' 22-second win: "It was a big gap. We knew we were fast all weekend, so I'm not shocked but pleasantly surprised by the size of the gap. Once Lando got in clean air, he controlled it easily. ... The upgrades clearly worked. I think we need to keep our feet on the ground."

Norris on if he has the car to fight Verstappen for drivers' championship: "Honestly, I've had the car for quite a while - that's been obvious. The car's been phenomenal almost since Miami. I wouldn't say we've been the best since Miami, but on average, we have been. It's clear that we missed out on opportunities where we should have beat him and we didn't. That's in the past, and that's out of my control for now - we've reviewed those things. We've tried to take a step forward in a lot of areas, and a result like today proves that."

Red Bull's Christian Horner on McLaren's dominant weekend: "We did everything we could, but you could see their pace was just in a different league - plenty of work to do. I think we learned a lot of lessons this weekend, which will be valuable. A solid drive from Checo. Time to digest what's happened here, damage limitation with P2, and time to bounce back in Monza. ... The pace that they had today, nothing's secure (in the standings). We've got a comfortable lead in the drivers' championship, but the constructors' is another chunk of points that has come off today. We're going to have to respond."

Leclerc on podium finish: "Very, very surprised. I'm not very often happy with a P3, but I think with today's race, we can be extremely happy with the job we've done. On a very difficult weekend for the team, we've been struggling Friday until the race. In the race, we found more pace, executed the perfect strategy, we undercut two of our competitors, and we managed to keep them behind. A really strong race for the team. Really happy to start the second half like this."

George Russell on Mercedes finishing 7th and 8th: "Strange how we can win three of the last four and be fighting in Montreal and all of these places and then suddenly finish 50 seconds behind the win today. We need to look into it. Today was a really odd one."

What's next?

F1 heads to Monza for the Italian GP on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 9 a.m. ET.

Verstappen has won each of the last two races at Monza, but the circuit has featured five different winners since 2018.