There were surely some moments of sheer dread for Lando Norris in the opening seconds of the Dutch Grand Prix as once more his pole position advantage slipped away when the lights went out. Norris would be forgiven for shuddering with an icy chill familiar from the North Sea winds that have battered the dunes of Zandvoort this weekend as Max Verstappen powered past him. Yet he was unperturbed, held his nerve and with a dominant win duly applied the heat to the Dutchman that the world champion has not experienced in years.
Having kept his head down after losing the lead into turn one, Norris regrouped and displayed the composure and maturity required for a world championship contender. Having bided his time he came back at Verstappen and, putting the pace advantage of his McLaren to use, breezed back into the lead. The victory that followed was a masterclass of precision and pace.
