Lando Norris has claimed he can be more “chill” about the Formula 1 title race after a retirement in the Dutch Grand Prix saw him drop 34 points behind Oscar Piastri.
Norris was poised to come home in second behind team-mate Piastri when he slowed with an engine issue that brought his McLaren to a stop with seven laps to run.
The Briton had lined up second on the grid, but he lost out at the start to Max Verstappen as the Dutchman capitalised on the added grip that he had on the Soft tyres.
However, Norris regained the spot on the ninth lap as he swooped around the Red Bull’s outside at Turn 1 to move back into second, albeit 4.5 seconds behind Piastri.
Norris has explained that he decided not to be aggressive with Verstappen on the opening lap as he was aware that he would have the pace to soon get back through.
“As soon as I knew Max was on the Softs, I knew there was a good chance he was going to come past,” Norris told media including Motorsport Week.
“Again, my situation with a decent start, I had a dodgy upshift into third, which cost me my momentum. Otherwise, I think I had a slightly better one than Oscar.
“Then I was just on the inside. I couldn’t really get left. Oscar then drifted high, so I could come inside. I knew Max would go for it in Turn 2. It was a close one.
“But I also knew my pace was going to be much stronger, so I didn’t really have anything to worry about.”
Norris was running a little more than a second down on Piastri ahead when a terminal problem developed on the Mercedes engine in his McLaren that ended his race.
“It wasn’t my fault, so there’s nothing I can really do. It’s just not my weekend,” he bemoaned.
“A little bit unlucky yesterday with the wind and unlucky today. Nothing much. Out of my control. Tough one.
“Of course it’s frustrating. It hurts a bit for sure in a championship point of view. It’s a lot of points to lose so quickly and so easily.
“There’s nothing I can control now, so I’ll just take it on the chin and move on.”
Norris unsure what caused terminal engine issue
When asked whether his initial indication came when he reported a strange smell from the engine, Norris replied: “I think so. There’s nothing the team told me or said.
“I think it was pretty instant as well. I don’t know what the actual issue was even. The engine just shut off and that was it.”
With Piastri victorious at Zandvoort, the gap between the two McLaren drivers has extended to 34 points – the highest the margin has been throughout this campaign.
Norris has recognised that his bid to win a maiden title has been made tougher, but revealed the setback would allow him to relax more over the remaining nine races.
“The only thing I can do is try to win every race. That’s going to be difficult, but I’ll make sure I give it everything I can.
“I thought obviously this weekend was good. I didn’t lose out by much in quali, but I felt always pretty on top of things and a couple of little areas to improve on.
“If it wasn’t for a little gust of wind down the start finish yesterday, I’d be on pole. I’m sure the race would have looked a bit different today.
“The pace was very strong today. There are so many positives. It’s just close.
“I have a good team-mate. He’s strong. He’s quick in every situation, every scenario. It’s hard to get things back on someone who’s just good in pretty much every situation.
“Today is a different situation. It’s just unlucky. It’s not my fault. Sometimes that’s just racing.
“It certainly hasn’t helped the race. It’s only made it harder for me and put me under more pressure, but it’s almost a big enough gap now that I can just chill out about it and just go for it.”
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri wins chaotic F1 Dutch GP as Lando Norris and both Ferraris retire
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