Lewis Hamilton was told that he did not need to better his fastest lap on the final tour of the Zandvoort circuit on Sunday, only for Lando Norris to beat him to the extra point as he took the chequered flag.

Hamilton was gifted an excellent opportunity to punch in some strong lap times when he swapped his medium compound tyres for a new set of softs on lap 49.

Two laps after pitting, he set the fastest time of the race, and this looked set to earn him an extra point. As the drivers prepared for their final tours of the circuit, Hamilton asked race engineer Peter Bonnington whether or not he needed to improve his best effort.

Bonnington checked with the Mercedes crew and fed back to the seven-time world champion that he should be okay. However, Norris had another idea and snatched away the extra point with his final attempt.

Explaining the team’s error on the radio after the chequered flag, Bonnington said: “Well done Lewis, so that’s P8 mate, P8. Just lost the fastest lap by half a tenth to Norris. He just went for a final lap. But good recovery mate.”

After a short period of silence, Hamilton replied: “I did ask you about that,” before eventually adding: “I don’t think I had it in the tyres anyway so all good.”

In the end, Hamilton was forced to settle for a P8 finish. The seven-time world champion was close behind team-mate George Russell, despite starting from 14th on the grid following a miserable qualifying session.

While Hamilton’s performance was strong, Mercedes’ overall pace was concerning. The Silver Arrows won three of the four Grands Prix before the summer break but dropped back in Zandvoort.

Russell found himself in P3 ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri during the early stages of the race, but the Brit did not have the pace to hold on and also lost out to Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez.