Christian Horner claims Lando Norris’ McLaren was in a ‘different league’ after outclassing Max Verstappen in Zandvoort

Lando Norris triumphed in the exciting 2024 Dutch GP by a huge margin of over 22 seconds.

Christian Horner claims Lando Norris’ McLaren was in a ‘different league’ after outclassing Max Verstappen in Zandvoort

Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Christian Horner (VIa: Imago)

Lando Norris is the name on the minds of Formula 1 fans after his sensational triumph at the 2024 Dutch GP. The Brit put his MCL38 through the absolute wringer and seeing that he won the race by a margin of over 22 seconds, Red Bull’s Christian Horner is in awe of him.

Max Verstappen was the one who led the race after getting the better of Lando Norris on lap 1. However, the latter stayed on Verstapen’s tail and ultimately overtook the reigning world champion on lap 18 of the 72-lap event.

YouTube video

Moreover, after the overtake, there was no looking back for Norris and Christian Horner was very impressed by this.

FS Video
Congrats to McLaren and Lando. Their car was in a different league today. We did everything we could. Max converted P2 into a lead, but you could see that their pace was just in a different league. Plenty of work to do.
Christian Horner via Sky F1

The Red Bull team principal has left no stone unturned in showering huge praise on McLaren and Norris. McLaren brought a plethora of upgrades to Zandvoort which paid its due dividend by helping Norris win the Dutch GP in a Grand fashion.

RELATED
Lando Norris becomes the title favorite after dominant Dutch GP victory
Lando Norris

Christian Horner feels Red Bull ‘learned its lessons’ at the Dutch GP

While Christian Horner has applauded Lando Norris and his team, he has also taken the time to admit that Red Bull learned quite a few lessons in Zandvoort. In direct comparison, the Austrian outfit’s RB20 was nowhere near the might of McLaren’s MCL38.

Christian Horner (via IMAGO)
Christian Horner (via IMAGO)

Red Bull managed to come away with only 26 points from the Dutch GP.

I think we have learned a lot of lessons this weekend, which have been really valuable. And a solid drive from Checo. It’s time to digest what has happened here. Damage limitation with P2 and try to bounce back in Monza.
Christian Horner via the same interview

With round 15 of the 2024 season being done and dusted, things have heated up, especially in the Constructors Championship. As things stand, McLaren is only 30 points behind Horner and Co. in the standings.

Keeping in view everything that has been discussed, this week’s Italian GP is an extremely crucial event for Red Bull. If something similar like Zandvoort happens in Monza, then there will be every chance of the papaya-colored outfit reducing the gap to Red Bull to just single digits. Moreover, Sergio Perez has proved incredibly inconsistent this year and thus, could have another off weekend.

In case you missed it: