Toto Wolff sees F1 title race “wide open” after Lando Norris “annihilated” rivals

Toto Wolff believes the F1 title race - at least in the constructors’ championship - is “wide open” after Lando Norris “annihilated” McLaren’s rivals at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Norris stormed to his second career victory on Sunday, beating Max Verstappen by over 22 seconds.

It means Norris now sits 70 points behind Verstappen with nine rounds to go in 2024.

Norris’ level of domination was similar to Verstappen’s from last year as he impressively set the fastest lap on 42-lap old tyres.

Speaking to media including Crash.net on Sunday at Zandvoort, Wolff assessed the state of play in the title race.

“McLaren has proven in the past, since Austria last year that they brought upgrades to the car that landed spot on,” he said.

“And that was just very impressive to see today. He’s basically annihilated all of the competition, with the fastest lap at the end on a 42-lap old hard. Twenty seconds in gap.

“I think this championship, the constructors’ championship is wide open in my opinion and it’s good for Formula 1.”

Wolff thinks Verstappen still has the drivers’ championship “under control” but that could soon change given McLaren’s turn of pace - combined with Red Bull’s recent struggles.

“The driver championship, I think Max to a certain degree has it under control still, but it will be exciting to see whether there is a change of powers, and how much can we participate in that, because we were able in the last few races,” he added.

“I think if we would have had a car that was about normal, where we would have ended up, I don’t think we would have beaten Norris but we would have been in a little bit more exciting position.”

Mercedes endured a difficult weekend at the Dutch GP, finishing seventh and eighth.

Toto Wolff suggested the limited practice over the weekend - due to the weather - was a contributing factor to their dip in form.

Mercedes’ new floor is also a point of discussion with further analysis required.