ZANDVOORT, Netherlands. – McLaren and Dutch Grand Prix winner Lando Norris has blown the Formula One constructors’ championship wide open with Red Bull in danger of being overhauled, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Norris took the checkered flag 22.8 seconds clear of Red Bull’s home hero Max Verstappen at a windy Zandvoort on Sunday, finishing with a fastest lap flourish to secure an additional point.
While the Briton is a massive 70 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings with nine races remaining, McLaren are now only 30 behind reigning champions Red Bull in the constructors’ battle.
“He (Norris) has basically annihilated all of the competition with that fastest lap at the end, with a 42-lap old hard tire and a 20 second gap,” Wolff told reporters after the race.
“So, I think this championship, the constructors’ championship, is wide open in my opinion and that’s good for Formula One.”
With sprint races inflating the available points tally at some weekends to come, the gap is one that could be closed relatively quickly.
Red Bull scored 54 points from the China sprint weekend alone in April while McLaren scored 27 points more than Red Bull in Hungary last month.
McLaren has outscored once-dominant Red Bull in eight of the last nine races while Mercedes, fourth overall, has done so in four of the last five.
