McLaren’s Lando Norris fought back to take a dominant victory at the Dutch Grand Prix despite losing the lead to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at the start.

Norris, who had shown weaknesses at the start and in the first laps in recent races, was overtaken almost immediately when his wheels spun too much at the start.

But the pace of his McLaren was so high that he overtook Verstappen again on lap 18 before the pit stops and sped away.

Charles Leclerc secured the final podium spot, disproving his pre-race pessimism by fending off Oscar Piastri’s McLaren in the final 27 laps.

Verstappen seemed to sense which direction the race would take when he was still in the lead.

The Dutchman, who has monopolised this race since returning to the calendar in 2021, complained about a lack of grip early in the race.

And when Norris caught him, he defended the lead only half-heartedly, especially given the Dutchman’s normally extremely robust defensive tactics. At the first corner, Tarzan, the McLaren took the lead on the inside line.

Once in the lead, Norris was gaining about half a second per lap and there was nothing Verstappen could do to prevent him from losing his home race, which returned to the calendar for the first time in 2021 after a 36-year absence.

Once in the lead, Norris was in complete control and crossed the finish line 22.8 seconds ahead of Verstappen after one of the most dominant wins of the season.

And he underlined his outstanding form by setting the fastest lap on the final lap, beating Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by just 0.067 seconds.

“Just wonderful,” Norris said cheekily over the radio, copying the phrase Verstappen had used so often in victories during his dominance over the past two years.

“It feels incredible,” said Norris. “I wouldn’t say it was a perfect race just because the first lap was like that again, but it was beautiful, the car was very strong, I was able to get on the gas and get past Max and just keep going from there. It was still tough but it was fun.”

Verstappen said: “We had a good start and tried everything we could today. But as the race went on it was pretty clear that we weren’t fast enough. That’s why I tried to finish second today.”

“I know we have good starts and I was pretty confident we could get another one. That was my race.”

Norris’ victory, his first since his maiden win in Miami in May and following the introduction of McLaren’s first car upgrade since the Florida race, will be a welcome boost for a driver and team that have been criticised for squandering opportunities.

This reduces Verstappen’s lead in the championship to 70 points with nine races still to go – a still considerable lead, but one that Norris could perhaps still catch up with in this form.

In the constructors’ championship, McLaren is only 31 points behind Red Bull in the battle for its first team title in 26 years.