Max Verstappen’s three-year reign as Dutch Grand Prix champion came to an end as he was unable to match the pace of Lando Norris in his 200th Formula One race.

Verstappen cancelled out Norris’s pole position when he jumped past him on the first corner at Zandvoort, but his Red Bull was unable to pull clear of the McLaren and Norris overtook to regain the lead on lap 18.

The Dutchman was nearly six seconds behind by the time he went into the pits for new tyres nine laps later and he was unable to mount a serious challenge thereafter, eventually finishing nearly 23 seconds behind Norris.

Charles Leclerc took third place after starting sixth, having successfully held off Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri for the last 27 laps.

Norris also claimed a bonus point for the fastest lap on the final round to reduce Verstappen’s lead in the drivers’ championship to 70 points.

The Dutchman is still the clear favourite to win a fourth successive world title, but has now gone five races without a win. It is also the first time since Formula One returned to Zandvoort in 2021 that another driver has won the race.

Two orange armies

More than 300,000 fans flocked to the seaside circuit over the course of the Grand Prix weekend, but it was the orange of McLaren that prevailed over the hordes of Dutch supporters.

Verstappen admitted that his team had no answer to the speed of Norris, having complained during the race that the car was unresponsive.

“We had a good start so we tried everything we could today but throughout the race it was quite clear we were not quick enough so I tried to be second today,” he said.

Norris said he realised even before he overtook Verstappen that the track conditions favoured his car.

“I expected Max to start pushing and get a bit of a gap but he never did, so from that point I knew we were in with a good fight,” he said. “He seemed to keep dropping off and my pace was getting better. Especially when I got past I could just get comfortable, I could push, I had clean air and that’s always a big help.”

The next Grand Prix race is next weekend at Monza in Italy.