Wolff delivers Red Bull title warning after Norris 'annihilation'

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes the constructors' championship is now "wide open" after Lando Norris "annihilated" the entire field in the Dutch Grand Prix. 

Norris secured victory ahead of Max Verstappen in Zandvoort by 22.9s, marking the biggest winning margin by a non-Red Bull driver since Lewis Hamilton won the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix by 21.8s.

The British driver also secured the fastest lap point on the final lap, despite being on old hard tyres. 

McLaren is now just 30 points behind Red Bull in the constructors' standings, with Wolff believing that Red Bull is at risk of losing the title.

"I think McLaren has proven in the past that since they brought upgrades in Austria last year to the car, that they landed spot on and that was just very impressive to see [in the race]," Wolff told media including RacingNews365. 

"I mean, he's [Lando] basically annihilated all of the competition with that fastest lap at the end, with a 42-lap hard tyre and a 20-second gap. 

"So I think this championship, the constructors' championship, is wide open, in my opinion, and that's good for Formula 1."

Wolff backs Verstappen for drivers' title

Whilst Wolff is optimistic there will be a fight for the constructors' crown, he still thinks Verstappen as the advantage in the drivers' title. 

Norris finds himself 70 points behind Verstappen with nine races remaining, a deficit which will require a staggering run of results to claw back. 

However, what intrigues Wolff is the role Mercedes can play in the title fight when it is performing strongly, unlike in Zandvoort where George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished seventh and eighth. 

"In the drivers' championship, I think, Max to a certain degree has it under control still," said Wolff. 

"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 [to fight] in the last few races, and I think if we would have had a car that was about normal [in Zandvoort], where would we have ended up?

"I don't think we would have beat Norris, but maybe we would have had a little bit more exciting position."