Lando Norris points to deeper issues behind Dutch GP start struggles

Starting from pole position, Norris lost his lead to Red Bull's Max Verstappen at the first corner. This marked a continuation of Norris' ongoing struggles with starts, as he has never managed to lead into the opening corner from pole throughout his career.

Norris, however, fought back strongly during the race. He managed to close the gap to Verstappen and regain the lead before establishing a commanding advantage that led him to victory. 

This impressive comeback highlighted his ability to recover from a poor start.

Norris, along with his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, who also struggled off the line, suggested that there might be a more significant issue affecting their starts.

"We know what to do," Norris said in the aftermath. "We know what's required to do a perfect start. But we're talking about fine margins here. Because we both didn't get it right, it seems like maybe there was more underlying issue.

"Or something wasn't how it was supposed to be, or we've clearly misjudged something more than what others did."

Reflecting on his start issues earlier in the weekend, Norris described himself as "one of the best average starters" but acknowledged he lags behind his team-mate Piastri, who he regards as one of the grid's best starters.

"Oscar is one of the best starters on the grid," Norris admitted. "I'm not as good as him, but I'm not bad. It was a race that almost slipped away at the start, but today was different from previous situations.

"We need to find more consistency, and although I feel I've improved procedurally, it didn't translate as expected."