Norris must banish caution to bridge giant Piastri gap

The timing could not have been more piercing for Lando Norris. Just as the crestfallen McLaren driver trudged back to the Zandvoort pit-lane, Oscar Piastri was introduced onto the top step of the podium as the winner of the Dutch Grand Prix. The Brit was not hanging around for the national anthems; emotions and those papaya colours could not have been more juxtaposed.

- KIERAN JACKSON FORMULA 1 CORRESPONDENT

Norris’s cruel retirement from second in the field on Sunday with eight laps to go, the result of an oil leak due to a suspected chassis issue, has changed the whole complexion of this season’s F1 championship race. A gap to teammate Piastri, which was at nine points pre-race - and was set to increase to 16 - now stands at 34 points. In a campaign of fine margins between the McLaren duo, it is a game-changing moment.

The scenario brought back memories from nine years ago, in a similar intra-team title battle between the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Leading the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix comfortably with 15 laps to go, Hamilton suffered an engine failure and from a forecasted lead of five points, the Brit then trailed Rosberg by 23.

As a sign of the task ahead for Norris, Hamilton won four of the remaining five races and still couldn’t claw back the deficit. On that day in Sepang, Hamilton’s cry of “oh no, no!” over team radio after his mechanical breakdown became the memorable soundbite of the season.

This year, Norris’s head slumped between his knees while sitting solemnly on the Zandvoort sand dunes could be the season-defining image of F1 in 2025. For what it’s worth, Norris’s immediate reaction on team radio was not one of utter exasperation. Instead, it was begrudging acceptance that fate was, in similarity to last year’s title tilt, not swinging his way.