Lando Norris is adamant that he won’t dwell on his retirement in the Dutch Grand Prix, even in the scenario where the lost points deny him the Formula 1 title in 2025.
Norris’ championship hopes encountered a big blow last weekend at Zandvoort as a technical issue caused his McLaren to slow to a stop with seven laps remaining.
Oscar Piastri proceeded to impose the maximum possible damage as he clinched the race win, handing him a 34-point lead over his team-mate with nine races to go.
This was the second time this season that Norris has posted a non-score, the previous occurrence coming in Canada when he collided with Piastri in the closing laps.
However, Norris admitted that it was easier to put the latest setback behind him as, unlike in Montreal, this one materialised due to circumstances outside his control.
“I think it’s pretty easy to just move on from,” Norris told media including Motorsport Week.
“If it was something I did, I’d probably be still kicking myself or I’d still be pretty down about it.
“But I think the fact is it had nothing to do with me, it had nothing to do with what I did or how I was driving or my decisions.
“It’s pretty easy just to go, well, that’s life, what can I do? So it’s surprisingly easy for myself to put it behind and look ahead to this weekend, so that’s what I’m excited for.”
As he aims to bounce back at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, Norris is pleased that his work to improve how he processes disappointing events has paid dividends.
“I mean, it’s been one of the things I’ve been working on a lot away from the track, separate from my driving and just the general stuff,” he explained.
“But there’s change and there’s certainly things I’ve improved on.
“It doesn’t mean that I don’t get annoyed and frustrated when I don’t do well and I make mistakes and I lose out on pole or don’t win races.
“I still get frustrated by those moments and I still get down and whatever, but I think something I’m much better at now is dealing with it and not letting it affect anything else, whether it’s the people around me or my work for the following weekend, my work back in MTC, whatever it might be.
“I’d say that’s the biggest thing, is that it doesn’t have consequences for the future, let’s say.
“So the same with everyone in every job, they do. You may have moments where you’re not happy, but the most important thing is trying to learn from it and not letting it affect you for more than one day, two days, whatever it may be, not letting it affect your development and preparation for the next weekend.
“So, yeah, definitely improved. I’m still not happy, but, like I said, I can put it behind [me] because I can put it down to just being a bit unlucky and that happens to everyone sometimes in life, so it’s just the way it is.”
Norris philosophical on McLaren gremlin at Zandvoort
Norris, who hadn’t registered a car-related DNF since 2022 until last weekend, revealed that McLaren boss Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown issued apologies to him.
Having acknowledged that no individual in the team could be held accountable, however, the Briton’s reaction to his misfortune was to adopt a philosophical mindset.
“It’s just something that happens. It’s not Andrea’s fault, it’s not Zak’s fault,” he reiterated.
“I think it was 60 something races without a technical failure, without any issues. I think that’s a record for ourselves, I don’t know if it’s a record in Formula 1, but it’s something we’re pretty proud about.
“So for that to happen now, that’s just being unlucky. It wasn’t a bad job by anyone. It was just life, various things coming together and then just being unlucky.
“Andrea, Zak, they apologise, because it feels like it’s their behalf to apologise, but it’s not his fault or Zak’s fault.
“So I don’t know what I’m going to say in those moments and I don’t really know what they want to say either.
“They apologise because they feel like they’ve let me down, the same as I apologise when I feel like I’ve let them down.
“It’s life, like you just can’t do anything about it. I can literally only look ahead to the next few races and try and do more than I’ve ever done.
“If I lose the championship by those points, then I just have to keep my chin up, my head held high and try and do it again next year.
“But I can’t dwell on those moments too much; it’s not anyone’s direct fault. Even if it was, I have to take my chin and move on, so that’s what I’m trying to do.”
But while he vowed post-race that he has now nothing to lose in his quest to secure a maiden F1 title, Norris stressed that won’t produce an automatic upturn in form.
“I can’t do a lot more because I feel like I’m doing pretty everything I can,” he elaborated. “So it’s not like this was a trigger and now I can suddenly start doing more.
“I’ve been pretty happy with a lot of my performances, which is talking very small margins here and there that can make big differences.
“So I’m happy. I know I have to improve things, I’m working on them and that’s all I can continue to do.”
READ MORE – Why McLaren backs F1 to see an ‘even better’ Lando Norris following Dutch GP setback
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