There was a hush that fell over the Formula One paddock in Zandvoort, as the reality of Lando Norris DNF sunk in. Lando was just nine points behind his team mate going into the weekend in the Netherlands and a win would have closed the gap to a tantalising two.
With McLaren out of sight in the constructors’ championship, the remaining duel between the McLaren drivers for their maiden F1 title was the main talking point each race weekend. Now with Norris 34 points behind Piastri, the race is all over bar the shouting.
Reliability in the modern era of Formula One is so good, that its unlikely Oscar will suffer the same fate as his team mate. This leaves Norris needing to win the next five Grand Prix – assuming his team mate is second each weekend – to get ahead of Piastri and probably two from the remaining four if he were to clinch the championship.
Stella preaches message of “neutrality”
With McLaren admitting the problem was with their engineering and not the Mercedes power unit, their plan of ‘neutrality’ towards both drivers now lays in tatters. The F1 gods are cruel indeed, as had the failure happened to the other papaya liveried car, the consequences for Piastri would have been less damming.
The setback for Norris and the team was described by team boss Andrea Stella as “even more inconvenient” given McLaren’s efforts to maintain neutrality in the title battle between its two drivers. “Reliability has been a strong point at McLaren for a long time,” Stella said afterwards. “We have had today what looks like a technical reliability problem, which is always disappointing, but I would say that is even more inconvenient because it affects a situation in which we, as a team, we wanted to stay as neutral as possible in what is the drivers individual quest in the Drivers’ Championship.
“So it’s not ideal that we had a problem with the car, but that’s what it is. The whole team will process this, trying to take the learning, reviewing the problem, fixing it and making sure that this is not a factor anymore for the future, not only for the remainder of the championship, even if, obviously, this is the main focus for the moment.”
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Mercedes not to blame
Stella was quick to defend Mercedes should it have been proven the fault was with the Brixworth built powertrain. “So, we have some initial indication based on the data, but in fairness, we don’t have full proof of what has happened on Lando’s car,” he explained. “So I would refrain from making any speculation about it’s a problem on the chassis side or is a problem on the engine side.
“In fairness, it doesn’t make, in terms of the result, doesn’t make a big difference. Even in how this is perceived, let me say. I want to take the opportunity to remind ourselves that we just see chassis, engine, as a single, one team. So we will see technically where the problem is. We will fix it and we will go again. But at the moment, it’s unclear on which side the problem is.”
As outlined about, Norris probably has to win at least sic if not seven of the remaining Grand Prix of the year if he has any hope of becoming Formula One champion driver. He himself acknowledge the scale of the challenge. “Win every race,” he said of his new championship task, before adding that the gap may allow him to “chill out” in the knowledge that only perfection will suffice.
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McLaren will not change their approach
It was suggested to Stella that Lando’s new approach to close the huge gap could see him much more aggressive in his driving. “Well, we talk about Lando. He’s one of the most fair, balanced, in a way I would want to say, like, you know, trustworthy individual, before being so as a driver,” Stella said. “So when he says it’s going to be full commitment, or whatever he said, it just means that, if anything, he will try to extract out of himself even more from his incredible potential. Yeah, I look forward to seeing what Lando will be conditioned to express, because we know that his talent is immense, and I’m sure this situation in the championship will give him extra motivation to try and extract it.”
Fine words indeed but that’s little consolation to Lando who knows the team’s failure has cost him not his team mate maybe the only shot at an F1 title he will have. Whilst Stella continues to talk about the neutrality of the team, the elephant in the room is trumpeting to its heart’s content. McLaren cannot be neutral otherwise this would mean ensuring Piastri suffers a similar fate to his team mate, caused by the team.
“When it comes to the team, what’s important is that the team keeps racing in the same way we have gone racing so far. So staying as neutral as possible, facilitating the pursuit of their own aspirations for Lando and Oscar in a balanced way, in a fair way, in a sportsman like way, and that’s what we will continue to do,” continues the McLaren boss. “I don’t think there’s any change in the approach of the team that is triggered based on the fact that we have this situation in Zandvoort.”
“Fair’ means ‘first’
McLaren’s problem, in short, is that its attempt to be Switzerland in a two-driver title fight has been blown apart by a puff of smoke from Norris’ MCL39. The team insists on fairness, balance, and neutrality — but when one driver’s car grinds to a halt while the other sails to victory, no amount of “sportsmanlike” language can disguise the fact that the title has tilted heavily in Piastri’s favour.
Stella’s insistence that chassis and engine are “a single, one team” is noble enough, but it does sound a little like a parent refusing to admit whether it was Mum or Dad who forgot to pick up the kids from school. For Norris, the reality is brutal: the numbers say he must now win pretty much every race. He can call that “chilling out,” but most observers would call it ‘chasing a moving train on a flat tyre.’
McLaren will be gutted over their failure to ensure Lando’s car was reliable, but continuing all the talk over neutrality and fairness seems to be protesting too much. Norris may soon wonder whether “fair” really means equal, or simply means whoever’s car makes it first to the chequered flag.
Antonelli lambasted, but Wolff defends his driver
Andrew Kimi Antonelli was fast tracked into Formula One following the surprise decision by Lewis Hamilton to quit his Mercedes team just weeks after signing a new contract. The dreaded Toto Wolff speciality “one plus one” deal with his seven times world champion driver did not offer Hamilton the security he desired and his request for a ten year Mercedes’ ambassador role was rejected.
Then young Italian had signed to the Mercedes junior driver programme in 2018 and went on to claim a number of region titles including the Italian F4 championship and the Formula regional middle east series in 2023. Yet Kimi was first tested last season when Mercedes entered him directly into the FIA’s international F2 junior formulae series, where its fair to say he struggled and despite leading the title race at one point, he slid to an anonymous P6 come the end off the year….. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
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