Netherlands F1 Grand Prix 2024 Results: Lando Norris Tops Max Verstappen to Win Race

Lando Norris cruised to victory in Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort, earning his second checkered flag in Formula 1 for 2024.

Norris delivered the kind of performance fans have come to expect from Max Verstappen, finishing more than 20 seconds ahead of Verstappen. It was quite the emphatic statement on Verstappen's home track.

Charles Leclerc landed on the podium in third for the second straight race.

Norris blew past the rest of the field in qualifying with a fastest lap time of 1:09.673 to start from the pole. Verstappen overtook the British star early in the race and added to what has been a theme in the latter's case, but Norris reclaimed the lead by Lap 18.

He briefly ceded first place again around the halfway mark after going in for a pit stop but reclaimed his spot atop the leaderboard after McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri made his own trip to pit road.

Once Norris was running from first this time, nobody could touch him.

Verstappen's showing was met with a mixture of surprise and anger on social media. It's not often he looks this far off the pace, which was a worrying sign for what's left of the campaign.

Nine races are left in the Formula 1 season.

While the battle for the drivers' championship is much closer compared to last year, Verstappen maintains a sizable lead on Norris that will be tough to erase over the next few months. Granted, anything is possible if the Red Bull star continues to look this sluggish relative to his usual level.

Norris will hope he can narrow the gap a bit in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza Circuit on Sept. 1, though Verstappen is the two-time reigning champion in the event.

This time next week, order might be restored in F1.