Sep.1 (GMM) Lando Norris left Zandvoort disconsolate after an oil leak robbed him of second place – and potentially turned the title fight on its head.
Having narrowly missed out on pole to teammate Oscar Piastri, Norris was running behind him on Sunday when his McLaren rolled to a halt with a smoke-filled cockpit.
Camera shots of the Briton slumped alone on the sand dunes brought back memories of Mika Hakkinen’s famous tears at Monza in 1999.
“I was hoping you’d run into Piastri,” Norris joked to Max Verstappen afterwards, recalling the Dutchman’s bold opening-lap lunge.
Verstappen laughed back: “Yeah? Just take him out. I tried,” the Red Bull driver told his friend and Viaplay.
“Hey, next week you’ll have a new engine, and a bit more power.”
Norris was in no real mood to laugh, however, declaring that he simply wants a “burger and to go home”.
“I have nothing to blame myself for,” he said. “But if I lose the World Championship because of this, it would be tough.”
Sky Deutschland Ralf Schumacher tried to console the 25-year-old. “As crazy as this sounds, this takes the pressure off Lando,” said the former F1 driver.
“He can’t do anything else but just fight freely again. I know that sounds strange. But it might be mentally helpful.”
Team boss Andrea Stella also downplayed fears Norris might take reckless risks in his fightback. “When Lando says that, he means he’ll get even more out of his potential,” Stella said.
“He’s one of the fairest drivers in the field. I don’t expect him to take any major risks in the battle with Oscar.”
Norris himself admitted he felt “unlucky” across the whole weekend – edged by a tiny margin for pole on Saturday and struck by McLaren’s first reliability glitch in a long time on Sunday. “It was an oil leak,” Stella confirmed.
“We have identified a problem with the chassis and will conduct a comprehensive check before Monza next week. This is the first technical issue for the team after a long period of flawless reliability.”
The Briton also stunned many by suggesting that if he ever does become world champion, he could follow Nico Rosberg’s example and quit immediately.
“Sometimes it’s good to leave when you’ve won, like Nico did,” Norris said, quoted by Total-Motorsport and MTV Finland. “Just one championship. No need to continue after that.
“You’ve already achieved a goal and can start living an incredible life.”
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