Max Verstappen stunned fans following the Dutch Grand Prix by revealing that he deliberately aimed to “be second” after it became clear that McLaren’s Lando Norris had superior speed.

The race started with Verstappen energizing the home crowd by overtaking pole-sitter Norris, taking an early lead and pulling away beyond Norris’s DRS range. However, Norris quickly regained his momentum and demonstrated impressive speed. On Lap 18, Norris used the DRS on the start/finish straight to retake the lead from Verstappen at Turn 1.

From that moment on, Norris was in control, extending his lead as the race progressed. He completed a one-stop strategy, ultimately finishing 22.8 seconds ahead of Verstappen.

Reflecting on his second-place finish, which ended his streak of home victories from 2021 to 2023, Verstappen admitted, “You always try to do better. We had a good start and tried everything we could today, but it was clear throughout the race that we weren’t quick enough, so I decided to aim for second.”

When asked if he expected to maintain the lead, Verstappen clarified, “Not at all. I know we have strong starts, so I was confident about that. I just tried to race my own race, and today that meant finishing second.”

Norris not only secured the victory but also set the fastest lap of the race. His performance reduced Verstappen’s championship lead from 78 points to 70 with nine races remaining in the season. Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship has also been cut to just 30 points, with Oscar Piastri finishing fourth and Sergio Perez in sixth.