The China Mail - 'Simply lovely': Five key takeaways from the Dutch GP

AFP Sport looks at five key takeaways from the race weekend at the seaside circuit of Zandvoort, just a stone's throw from the beach.

- Flying McLaren -

After spending too long, from their perspective, chasing Red Bull, McLaren can now proudly say they have the fastest car in the Formula One paddock.

"100 percent," replied Norris when asked if he had the quickest package available to him.

Recent upgrades to the car have played a part in making it more competitive.

"Simply lovely," said a cheeky Norris as he crossed the line, copying a phrase Verstappen has used many times when taking the chequered flag.

The only dark cloud on the McLaren horizon was the start.

Both Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri suffered wheelspin at the lights, with the Briton giving up the hard-fought pole position.

"It was another race that nearly slipped off the line," admitted Norris.

The difference between this and previous times he had failed to convert a pole position was that he had much more consistent pace compared to the Red Bull.

- Max is beatable -

Not only had Verstappen not lost since Zandvoort was reintroduced to the F1 circuit in 2021, he had never even failed to claim pole.

But this was not a happy homecoming for Verstappen despite the presence of his famous "Orange Army" cheering his every move.

Spinning his car in a wet first practice was a bad omen and he complained about his car all weekend, losing pole to Norris and then being more than 22 seconds off the pace on race day.

"Just a bad weekend all round," said a downbeat Verstappen, who nevertheless retains a 70-point advantage over Norris in the drivers' championship.

- Williams horror show -

If Red Bull had a bad weekend, spare a thought for Williams.

On the final practice session on Friday, Williams driver Logan Sargeant skidded on wet grass in atrocious weather conditions and careered violently into the fence.

The car promptly burst into flames. Sargeant was unharmed but his vehicle was nearly completely destroyed.

Then a few hours later came the news that the other Williams driver, Alex Albon, had been penalised for a technical infringement and would start from the back of the grid.

"That's on our shoulders," said team principal James Vowles, as his drivers finished in 14th and 16th place, more than a lap off the pace.

- Ferrari surprise -

The scuderia came into the Dutch Grand Prix with low expectations that seemed to be confirmed in qualifying with their drivers starting in sixth and a lowly 10th on the grid.

But Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc found some speed from somewhere to hold off Piastri's McLaren in a thrilling race for the last spot on the podium.

Team-mate Carlos Sainz battled his way from tenth up to fifth, giving the Ferrari team a boost as they head into their home Grand Prix next weekend in Monza.

Leclerc was at a loss to explain how the car had gone from nine-tenths of a second off the pace in qualifying to challenging the grid's best cars.

"I think as much as we analyse every bad surprise we have during a season, we also need to understand when we do something good," he quipped.

- Wet and wild Zandvoort -

Those not familiar with Dutch seaside weather might have received a shock from their visit to Zandvoort.

The three days leading up to Sunday's race featured weather ranging from torrential rain to bright sunshine and back again in the space of a few minutes.

All drivers complained of windy gusts in Saturday's qualifying session, with Williams boss Vowles remarking the weather was better suited to kitesurfing than Formula One.

But this did not deter the 305,000 people who turned up to watch across the three days.

The people happiest with the variable weather were the children lining the route leading up to the circuit selling ponchos to the damp and ill-equipped.

L.Johnson--ThChM