Max Verstappen and Red Bull were powerless to stop Lando Norris winning the Dutch Grand Prix at a canter as McLaren again closed the gap in the constructors' championship
Hopes that a reset over the summer break would stop the rot were dashed as Lando Norris did the same thing at Zandvoort. Too much wheelspin on the line allowed Max Verstappen the opportunity to get the Dutch fans roaring as he took an early lead.
He was nearly 23 second ahead of the Dutchman as he rubber-stamped only his second career F1 victory, but one which has Red Bull, perhaps for the first time, truly concerned. Verstappen had a 78-point advantage over Norris in the drivers' standings before the weekend and looked entirely comfortable in his title defence.
Perez finished down in sixth while Oscar Piastri was fourth as the gap to Red Bull shrank again to just 30 points. Horner looked concerned as he admitted: "With the pace that they had today, nothing is secure. We still have a comfortable lead in the drivers', but in the constructors' another chunk of points has come off again today."
But the wry smile on his face said it all as he glumly conceded: "It's very complicated to understand how we can fix it." Still, Red Bull's weekend wasn't anywhere near as bad as what Mercedes endured. Lewis Hamilton started 14th after an embarrassing early exit in qualifying and then a penalty for impeding Perez.
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