Norris wins Dutch GP but says McLaren still lacks car to fight for title

Lando Norris secured back-to-back Formula 1 victories, winning the season's final Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after his earlier win in Hungary. Despite the strong result, the McLaren driver said his car still has too many weaknesses to mount a consistent title challenge.

Norris now sits 83 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes. Antonelli's team-mate George Russell is level on points with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who trails the leader by 59 points.

Norris explained that McLaren's recent upgrades have made the car exceptionally strong in high-speed corners, but the team still lags significantly behind Mercedes in slow-speed sections. He expressed concern about the upcoming races in Monza and Azerbaijan, both circuits dominated by long straights with few high-speed corners, which could expose McLaren's weaknesses.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said that if the team's improvements hold up in Monza, there would be reason for optimism for the rest of the season. He also praised Norris, saying the driver is currently performing at a world-champion level and continues to improve both on track and in his work with the team.

The situation is complicated further by stagnation at Mercedes, which has not introduced a major upgrade since Canada in May; its next upgrade isn't expected until the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, four races away. Antonelli also faces a grid penalty at his home race in Italy due to exceeding his engine allowance following earlier reliability issues.

Norris said he is focused on taking one race at a time rather than looking ahead to the championship battle, acknowledging that McLaren still needs to improve to close the gap to its rivals.