Lando Norris has insisted he has been locked in a title battle with Max Verstappen for a long time after his win at the Dutch Grand Prix saw the McLaren driver close in on the reigning world champion by 70 points.
Norris, who took pole position, lost the lead on the first lap but finished nearly 23 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Verstappen in Zandvoort to claim his second career grand prix win after Miami in May.
Verstappen has won seven of the first 10 grands prix of 2024 but has failed to win any of the last five, finishing on the podium just twice during that period.
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Watch the moment Norris beat Verstappen by more than 20 seconds to win the Dutch Grand Prix.
Norris, who picked up an extra point for setting the fastest lap time in the Netherlands with his upgraded car, said of his bid for the drivers' championship: “I've been fighting for it since the first race of the year.
“There was no sudden decision of 'I have to do better now.' I've been working hard all year.”
Add Sky Sports F1“I've had that car for quite some time now, that's for sure,” the 24-year-old said. “It's been great. I wouldn't say it's been the best since Miami, but it's been average.”
Norris doesn't look too far ahead.
Norris, who will be looking to further reduce Verstappen's lead at next weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza, told his post-race press conference that he would not be caught up in McLaren's developments and would take the season “one race at a time”.
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Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson analyses why Norris had a slow start at Zandvoort.
He said: “I'm still 70 points behind Max so it's pretty foolish to think about anything right now. I'm taking it one race at a time. I don't need to think about the rest.
“I don't care right now. It's not a question I have to ask every weekend.”
“I thought Max was quicker than I thought,” Norris said of his huge lead over second-placed Verstappen at Zandvoort.
“He looked like an outlier when he dropped back to Ferrari and it was amazing.”
Brown: Something interesting is going to happen in Monza.
McLaren CEO Zac Brown, whose team are currently just 30 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors' Championship, has been “pleasantly surprised” by Norris' dominance but expects Red Bull to respond at Monza.
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McLaren CEO Zak Brown says Norris dominated the Dutch GP but must remain grounded after his convincing win.
“We knew he was fast all weekend so we weren't shocked by the size of the gap but we were pleasantly surprised. Landau definitely dominated the race,” Brown said.
“The upgrades have clearly had an effect, but we need to continue to understand how competitive F1 is and not assume it will be repeated every week.
“We obviously have a fast car and I think we'll be ready for Monza, which will be fun, but I think Red Bull will be fast there.”
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Watch how Norris took the lead back from Verstappen at Zandvoort.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “It exceeded our expectations. We knew the car was performing well, but today was a positive surprise in terms of speed.
“This weekend's upgrades put us in a strong and exciting position for the future. Let's see if we can be the best car in every venue. That's the goal.
“We're fighting against Red Bull. They were dominant last season. It's exciting for us to be in this position and we feel like we have the performance to try and do it.”
The 2024 Formula 1 season continues next weekend with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, which will be shown live on Sky Sports F1.
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