Lando Norris admitted “it hurts” after a devastating engine failure forced him to retire from the Dutch Grand Prix with just seven laps remaining, handing victory to McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and dealing a potentially fatal blow to his Formula 1 title hopes.
The British driver, who entered the weekend just nine points behind championship leader Piastri, saw his deficit balloon to 34 points after smoke poured from his McLaren on lap 65 of the 72-lap race at Zandvoort.
Speaking after his retirement, a dejected Norris cut a frustrated figure, telling reporters: “Not much. Just want to go have a burger and go home.”
Frustration Mounts
The 25-year-old was running in second place behind Piastri when he reported “something funny” coming from his engine, followed by visible smoke and flames emerging from the back of his car. He was forced to stop on track, ending what had been a promising race performance.
“I was quick today. It is impossible to overtake here,” Norris reflected. “A good race today. I was happy I could stay within 1.5/2s. It was a positive race but it didn’t mean anything. I couldn’t get past. Oscar deserved it today. Just not my weekend.”
When pressed on whether he could still challenge for the championship, Norris struggled to hide his disappointment: “We will wait and see. It is frustrating. It hurts to lose 25 points outright. It would have been smaller, but I just have to keep fighting, keep doing what I can.”
Second DNF of Season
The retirement marks Norris’s second DNF of the 2025 season, following his collision with Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix in June. The timing could hardly be worse, coming at a crucial stage of the championship battle with just nine races remaining.
Earlier in the race, Norris had shown strong pace, overtaking Max Verstappen around the outside of Turn 1 on lap nine to reclaim second place after the Red Bull driver had passed him at the start. The McLaren duo appeared set for their fifth consecutive one-two finish before disaster struck.
I don’t know if I’m on fire or not,” Norris had told his team over the radio as smoke began billowing from his car. His race engineer attempted to console him by praising his pace, but Norris’s terse response of “Doesn’t matter” spoke volumes about his frustration.
Piastri Dominates
While Norris faced heartbreak, Piastri delivered a masterclass performance to claim his ninth career victory and seventh of the 2025 season. The Australian led every lap from pole position, managing three safety car restarts and the constant threat of rain to secure what he described as a “grand slam” victory.
“It feels good, obviously,” Piastri said after the race. “I controlled the race when I needed to, and obviously, it was incredibly unfortunate for Lando at the end. But I felt like I was in control of that one and just used the pace when I needed to.”
McLaren’s Mixed Emotions
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella acknowledged the bittersweet nature of the result, with the team experiencing both triumph and disaster in equal measure.
Today we experienced the two sides of motorsport,” Stella explained. “On one side we have the joy and satisfaction for another victory for McLaren and a deserved victory for Oscar, he ran a very strong and clean weekend. On the opposite side we had the disappointment and the pain and the retirement.”
Despite the setback, Stella remained adamant that Norris could still challenge for the championship: “100 percent absolutely no doubt and absolutely no hesitation. I think if possible we will see even the best of Lando as he tries to recover the points he missed.”
Technical Investigation
McLaren later confirmed that the failure was due to a chassis issue causing an oil leak, rather than an engine problem. The team stated they would conduct a thorough review ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next weekend.
The last McLaren car failure occurred over two and a half years ago at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, making Sunday’s retirement particularly painful for a team that has prided itself on reliability during their championship challenge.
Championship Implications
The result leaves Piastri with a commanding 34-point advantage in the drivers’ championship with nine races remaining. Max Verstappen’s second-place finish keeps him in third overall, whilst Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar claimed his maiden podium in third.
For Norris, the mathematics are becoming increasingly challenging. With a maximum of 225 points still available, the deficit is not insurmountable, but he can ill afford any more setbacks if he hopes to claim his first world championship.
“That is life, I just take it on the chin and move on,” Norris concluded. I look on and try and bounce back. I will make sure I do everything I can.”
As Formula 1 heads directly to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, all eyes will be on whether Norris can respond to this crushing setback and keep his championship dreams alive.
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Image Credit:
Lando Norris, British GP 2022 (cropped) — photo by Jen Ross, taken on 3 July 2022 (Silverstone). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
