Lando Norris’ Dutch Grand Prix went up in smoke as an oil leak forced the second-placed driver to retire as he pursued teammate Oscar Piastri.
The points gap between the two McLaren drivers has widened to 34 points, and while it’s not impossible to overcome that deficit, Norris believes “the only thing I can do is win every race.”
Lando Norris: The only thing I can do is win every race
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
The Formula 1 circus made its way to Zandvoort after its summer shutdown with an exciting title battle in its grasp. McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were separated by a mere nine points in the championship, with every indication that both drivers have what it takes to battle for victory.
But during the race itself, the bad luck bug bit Norris.
After narrowly missing out on pole position and dropping from second to third at the start, the Briton was hoping to close the gap to leader Piastri in the closing stages of the race when an oil leak forced him to abandon his MCL39.
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While McLaren has yet to confirm the exact issue, the retirement has made Norris’ quest far more challenging: His points deficit to Piastri has ballooned to a season high 34 points.
Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets after the race, Norris detailed what he believes it will take to mount a challenge from here.
“The only thing I can do is win every race,” he stated. “That’s gonna be difficult.”
Indeed, the points deficit is such that it would take five consecutive victories for Norris to regain the lead of the championship, assuming Piastri were to finish second, and that would only be by a single point.
No matter the permutations, it’ll be a challenge.
“I’ll make sure I give it everything I can,” Norris said.
He continued by reflecting on what he otherwise thought was a good weekend.
“I didn’t lose out by much in quali, but I felt aways pretty on top of things, and a couple little areas to improve on,” he said.
“But it wasn’t for a little gust of wind down the start-finish [in qualifying], I’d be on pole, and I’m sure the race would have looked a bit different.
“The pace is very strong,” he continued. “There’s so many positives.”
However, when it comes to the championship battle, “It’s just close.”
“I have a good teammate,” Norris confided.
“He’s strong, he’s quick in every situation, every scenario, so it’s hard to get things back on someone who’s just good in pretty much every situation.
“[Zandvoort] is just a different situation. It’s just unlucky. It’s not my fault, and sometimes that’s just racing.
“But yeah, certainly hasn’t helped, the race; it’s only made it harder for me and put me in more pressure, but it’s almost a big enough gap now that I can just chill out about it.”
With nine grands prix remaining in the F1 2025 season, there’s still all to play for, but as Norris points out, time is beginning to run out.
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