Stupid to think of F1 title, says Norris after second win

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands : Lando Norris said it was stupid to talk about winning the Formula One title after his statement Dutch Grand Prix win on Sunday, but the McLaren driver's chances were certainly being discussed by others.

The 24-year-old Briton's second career triumph, and second of the season, was particularly resonant coming in Max Verstappen's backyard with more than 100,000 mostly orange-shirted fans cheering for Red Bull's championship leader.

Norris took the chequered flag a mighty 22.896 seconds ahead of Verstappen, the biggest margin so far this year, but is still a huge distance behind the triple world champion with nine races remaining.

"I've been working hard the whole year and I'm still 70 points behind Max. So it's pretty stupid to think of anything at the minute," he said when asked about the title.

"I just take one race at a time and just keep doing what I'm doing now because there's no point to think ahead and think of the rest."

No Formula One driver has ever overcome a deficit of such a magnitude but Red Bull's motorsport adviser Helmut Marko was concerned anyway.

"As Max said before the summer break, the team has to work harder and must find improvements because like that his championship is in threat," the Austrian told the website.

Norris clawed back eight points on Sunday, one for fastest lap, but he will need Verstappen to start squandering many more over the coming months and the Dutch driver does not have a history of doing that.

McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri will also have to take points off Verstappen, to boost Norris's chances, but the Australian finished fourth on Sunday.

It would also help if Mercedes, winner of three races this season, and Ferrari, twice triumphant, pushed the Red Bull