The biggest winning margin of the 2024 Formula 1 season is Lando Norris and McLaren’s victory over Max Verstappen and Red Bull at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Was McLaren’s dominance an outlier or the start of a new trend? What does it mean for the title fights? And how worried should Red Bull be?

This is our opinion:

McLaren can’t count on this becoming the norm

Scott Mitchell-Malm

It’s a big, statement win, especially to dominate after losing a position on the track. But that doesn’t mean McLaren and Norris can expect this to become the norm – and they’ve made it harder than it needed to be.

At first I thought Norris had messed up the start and feared the whole ‘losing on the first lap’ story had gotten too much into his head. Then I saw the replay with a wider shot where Piastri did more or less the same thing.

Maybe both drivers got it wrong, maybe McLaren just misjudged the start settings for this one. Whatever the cause, it was another case of McLaren and Norris letting Verstappen go first, and that has happened too often. Usually the margins are so small that the lost track position has been decisive.

That wasn’t the case here, where McLaren – as in Hungary – was untouchable. Perhaps that’s the norm now on such high-downforce circuits. But still, weaknesses in a key phase like the start can’t last.

Overall it has been punished and while it ultimately didn’t matter in Zandvoort, it could matter in the future. If this sounds hypercritical, remember that there are world championships at stake and this is F1.

Taking such things lightly has prevented McLaren from improving as quickly as they did under Andrea Stella.

Red Bull seemed to be in big trouble

Ben Anderson

Back at a high-downforce circuit that felt more like Budapest than Spa, it was perhaps unsurprising that McLaren, given their recent form, held the advantage over Red Bull.

The fact that the weather was so changeable and Red Bull didn’t really have the chance to perfect the set-up during practice probably only widened the gap.

But either way, it was a crushing victory for Norris. Even his advantage on the track, which is normally so important on such a twisty circuit, was not enough for Verstappen to achieve one of his miraculous victories against all odds.

Red Bull really seemed to be in trouble here. With this latest upgrade, McLaren seems to have pinned Red Bull down on straight line speed/rear wing efficiency, which was probably the biggest deficit McLaren still had after Miami.

And the ease with which that car got on the track, with its improved components, was immediately quick And relatively easy to drive – if that is the case at every circuit from now on and Red Bull cannot get its own aerodynamic issues under control, then McLaren must probably be considered favourites to win the Constructors’ Championship.

Just what McLaren needed – now they need to string the wins together

Edd Stro

Zandvoort was exactly the race McLaren needed in terms of performance to kick off the season finale, even if the imperfections such as temporarily losing the lead at the start and having only one car on the podium were not ideal.

However, it is important not to draw conclusions based on this one race. Red Bull struggled, particularly in the windy conditions, while the fact that Verstapen used an early-spec floor shows that it is a team that needs to do some work on its car. Just because it was like that at Zandvoort does not mean that it will be the same next weekend and then again at Monza.

But as part of a general trend going back to Miami, it is very encouraging for McLaren, which has a car that should be capable of winning the Constructors’ Championship, having closed the gap to 30 points.

But there will be tougher days than Zandvoort and with McLaren underperforming in the run-up to the break, it will be important that the team strings together wins and triumphs on days when it does not have such a big advantage.

A key area McLaren needs to work on

Gary Anderson

I am pretty sure this is the first weekend in a long time that Red Bull and Verstappen have been completely defeated. The 0.3s lead in qualifying and a 22.8s margin of victory just shows how much development work McLaren has done over the course of the season and how mature Lando Norris has become.

He was beaten by Verstappen at the start, but kept his cool and regained the lead when Verstappen’s tyres started to wear. From that moment on he was simply faster than the rest and took his second win of the season and of his career.

With nine races to go, the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship battles are still very much alive. Norris has pulled eight points back in the Drivers’ Championship, opening up a 70-point deficit, and in the Constructors’ Championship McLaren has pulled back 12 points and is now just 30 behind Red Bull – so everyone needs to be on their toes and make every one of those nine races count.

For McLaren, starting strategy – whether it’s driver or team line-up – needs some attention. It’s not the first time either driver has crossed the finish line this weekend and they really can’t afford to see it happen again.

One title is lost, another slips away

Josh Suttill

A weekend that confirmed two things for me.

Number one is that the constructors’ title is absolutely McLaren’s to lose at this point. This weekend’s upgrade has removed one of the last obstacles that stood in McLaren’s way. McLaren will overtake Red Bull and probably win that title with one round to go.

And now, despite the 70-point gap, Verstappen and Red Bull find themselves in very uncomfortable territory regarding the drivers’ title.

All Verstappen needs is one broken engine, a broken gearbox or an unnecessary collision and Norris has a chance at a title that no one but Max Verstappen could have won this season.

You can’t help but realise how small that difference would have been if McLaren and Norris had won the races they should have won in 2024.

Verstappen is still the big favourite, but his lead in the championship is no longer unassailable for the first time in three years.