Lando Norris rocketed to victory at the Dutch GP and, with that, equalled his Formula 1 win record with that of David Coulthard.
Lando Norris took a mighty victory at Zandvoort, stomping 11.5 seconds on the Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli in second. The McLaren driver showed impressive pace throughout the weekend, finishing the sole Practice session and Sprint Qualifying in second before ending up third in the Sprint.
When it was time for the Grand Prix, Norris and McLaren played their cards right to storm ahead and take the win. His victory at the Dutch GP makes it his second of the season, but his 13th win overall in his F1 career. It also became his first back-to-back victory in 2026 as he took the top step in Hungary the previous race weekend.
His 13 F1 victories put him at the same number of career wins as former F1 driver David Coulthard. While Coulthard had 13 wins across 15 seasons, Norris has already taken them across only 8 seasons.
Speaking about the Zandvoort weekend on the Up to Speed podcast, Coulthard said: “I think what we saw was exactly why I love Formula 1.
“We saw a driver at one with his car, at one with his team, and I don’t really like to do this with you all, but I feel it’s important for our Up To Speed listeners to be reminded: I did predict that Lando would win!”
He continued to make a joke about Norris equalling his F1 career win record, saying: “Oh God, I’m so pissed off! So pissed off! He’s a World Champion and has got 13 wins, haha! No, he was awesome. He deserves it.”
Norris on the ‘tough’ but ‘well fought’ race
As 2026 marks the final F1 race at Zandvoort, the McLaren driver became the last driver to win it. He fought hard across the 72 laps and with the McLaren strategy working in his favour, the MCL40 looked mighty.
“[It was] a tough race. I said I need to put on a bit of a show for everyone for the final race here. I made it tough for myself, but a good race, well fought,” Norris said of the race.
“It was probably one of my better wins. We had to fight for it as well, but the pace was very strong. I managed things incredibly well. So I’m over the moon, very, very happy, and it was nice to win the final race here in Zandvoort.”
Despite the McLaren team looking weaker than last season, the World Champion has been on an upward trajectory as his performances keep improving.
With 11 more race weekends to go, it will be exciting to see if Norris can still defend his title. He currently sits fourth in the Drivers’ Standings and lies 83 points behind leader Antonelli.
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