British media impressed by Norris: 'He silenced the Orange Army'

The Telegraph: Norris silences Dutch fans

"Lando Norris beat Max Verstappen in the Dutch driver’s backyard to ignite his hopes of winning the Formula One world championship," The Telegraph writes. "Norris might have feared the worst after he allowed Verstappen to blast ahead of him following another poor start for the Briton here in Zandvoort. But Norris silenced 105,000 orange-clad fans when he slipstreamed his way back past their hero on lap 18 of 72 before delivering an emphatic win to cross the line 22.8 seconds clear of Verstappen."

There were confusing messages coming out of McLaren, too. Norris was asked by race engineer Will Joseph who he thought he was racing. The answer appeared obvious: Verstappen – the man he beat to pole by more than three tenths – and Norris agreed. “The car ahead,” he roared. Yet Joseph’s question seemed to cast doubt over whether McLaren truly believed they had the speed to match Verstappen," the newspaper states.

Sky Sports: Norris can still ignite a title battle

Norris once again failed to get off the line well after the lights went out. He therefore failed for the sixth consecutive time to retain the lead from first place at the start. It did not matter much, however, as the Briton still won comfortably. "McLaren's Norris continued his run of poor starts as he failed to keep the lead on a sixth successive occasion from the front of the Formula 1 grid, but passed Red Bull's Verstappen at the start of lap 18 before romping home to win by 22 seconds," Sky said.

"Having failed to convert two pole positions earlier in the summer to victory, Norris finally claims his second F1 victory and the dominant nature of his performance with McLaren's latest upgrades package will spark hopes that the Brit can still ignite a title battle with Verstappen."

Sky Sports also highlighted Verstappen's victory drought, emphasising the fact that it's been a long time since this happened. "Max seemed on his way to his fourth consecutive drivers' title after a dominant start to the season, but a defeat in his home race means he has now gone five races without a win for the first time in a long time," they conclude.

BBC: Impressive victory for McLaren

Norris won by almost 23 seconds, a huge margin, and the BBC highlighted this distance between the top two. "Norris’ victory was the second-most dominant of the year, in terms of the winner’s gap to his closest rival. Only Verstappen’s victory in the opening race of the season in Bahrain, when he was 25 seconds clear of the first non-Red Bull, saw the victor cross the line further ahead than the 22.9 seconds by which Norris headed the Dutchman. "It was the manner of it that was so impressive."

The Daily Mail: Technical revolution at McLaren

Lando Norris bungled the start but won the Dutch Grand Prix in a paroxysm of relief and redemption. And instantly, a world championship fight that many had consigned to the dustbin of history is alive and kicking. There was a definite sense of a chance opening up for the Briton with this triumph on enemy territory in front of a 105,000 crowd, the vast majority of whom were cheering for their own hero, Max Verstappen. All credit to McLaren for their improvement by leaps and bounds. It’s testimony to chief executive Zak Brown’s perception of having found in team principal Andrea Stella a methodical engineer to lead their technical revolution," they write passionately.

As McLaren looks to compete for the title in both championships, it also comes with added pressure. "It is never easy for a driver or a team to go through their first taste of world championship pressure. Nobody knows how they will react. The longer and tighter the competition, the more it favours the battle-hardened, which in this case means Verstappen and Red Bull. But momentum is slipping away from him and them. This was the fifth race in succession he failed to win, dating back to Spain two months and two days earlier. It is his longest barren spell for four years, and to think he won seven of the first 10 rounds of his title defence.We will find out over the next few weeks if Red Bull, shorn of star designer Adrian Newey, have the wherewithal to conjure the answers." 

Express: Red Bull has serious work to do

"Lando Norris announced his presence as a genuine title contender at the Dutch Grand Prix, storming to victory by 23 seconds as Max Verstappen was left in the dust," The Express begin. "There were no McLaren strategy dramas on this occasion and Norris emerged from the pit lane the following lap with a 5.6-second lead. This advantage was quickly stretched to double digits as the Bristol-born racer stamped his authority on the race. By the time the chequered flag rolled around, the gap had widened to 20 seconds. Norris has arrived as a title contender, and Red Bull have serious work to do over the coming nine Grands Prix," The Express conclude.

This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon

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