“It wasn’t my fault, so there is nothing that I can really do. It’s just not my weekend.
“A bit unhappy yesterday with the wind and bad luck today … out of my control. Out from my control. Tough. Of course it is frustrating. It certainly does a bit at the point of view of championship. They are many points to lose so quickly and so easily.
Lando Norris put a brave face on his retirement of the Dutch Grand Prix, but while the smoke cloud of his McLaren cannot be taken to represent his championship house, it certainly allowed Oscar Piastri to pull both literally and figuratively.
The gorge had been nine points on the way to the Zandvoort weekend, and Norris every bit of the game for Piastri, but did not get the job done in the qualification. Whether that was hit by the wind on Saturday or not, he had put the pressure on his teammate without making a movement, and the little margins that separated the couple on Saturday were the determining factor of the race weekend.
And then the only thing McLaren did not want to happen this year happened. Just outside the driver’s check, one of his two contenders cost a big points of points.
“Reliability has long been a strong point at McLaren,” said McLaren -Team Head Andrea Stella. “We have had today what looks like a problem of technical reliability, which is always disappointing, but I would say that it is even more awkward because it influences a situation in which we as a team wanted to stay as neutral as possible in what the driver’s individual search is in the driver’s Championship.
“So it is not ideal that we had a problem with the car, but that is what it is.
The whole team will process this, try to learn, assess the problem, solve and ensure that this is no longer a factor for the future, not just for the memory of the championship, even if this is clearly the most important focus. “
Will Norris have to follow an more aggressive approach now that the gap has been widened? Joe Portlock/Getty Images
It is a compliment for McLaren that failure came as such a surprise, and also a compliment for both drivers that it bears such a weight. Norris and Piastri have been so closely matched that since the chaos of the wet weather of Melbourne, the biggest points between the two 13 was in Saudi Arabia, where Norris recovered to the fourth and won Piastri.
In the past four rounds, the biggest difference was eight-with-thank Piastri who offered one place in the Sprint and the main race in Belgium-Dus The 25-point win for the leader on Sunday in Zandvoort is related to the return over about three racing weekends in recent form.
“The only thing I can do is try to win every race,” says Norris about how it influences his title hoop. “That will be difficult, but I will make sure I give it all I can do.
“I clearly thought that this weekend was good. It wasn’t much and I didn’t lose much in Quali, but I always felt nicely on top of things and a few small areas to improve. If it wasn’t for a small gust of wind, I would be on a pole yesterday.
“The pace was very strong today. There are so many positives. It is just close. I have a good teammate. He is strong. He is quickly in every situation, every scenario. It is difficult to get things back to someone who is just good in almost every situation.
“Today is a different situation. It’s just bad luck. It’s not my fault. Sometimes that is just racing. It certainly didn’t help the race. It has only made it harder and has put me more pressure, but it is almost a big gap now that I can just cool over it and just go for it and just go for it.”
From Piastri’s side, the Australian had shown sympathy against Norris, but also does not consider the 34-point benefit as an advantage that he can start using in the way he approaches the remaining races.
“No, I don’t think so there is still a long way to go. I have to keep pushing and trying to win races. I would not say that it is a very comfortable margin. As we saw today, it can change with one DNF very, very fast. So far from the end of the year, it’s not a comfortable gap.”
Piastri’s right to two fronts, with the failure a memory that the McLaren car is not completely bulletproof and he could easily suffer the same fate at a certain stage. But it also recognizes the potential for Norris to perform at an even higher level if he is in the right state of mind.
“We talk about Lando, he is one of the most honest, balanced, in a way that I would say almost reliable individuals before I was like a driver,” Stella adds. “So if he says he will be full dedication or whatever he said, it only means that he will try to get more out of his incredible potential as a little more. I look forward to seeing what Lando will be conditioned to express because we know that his talent is immense and I am sure this situation will give extra motivation in the championship to try it.
“When it comes to the team, it is important that the team continues to race in the same way as we have started racing so far. So remain as neutral as possible, facilitating the pursuit of their own ambitions for Lando and Oscar in a balanced way, in an honest way, in a sportsman-like way and that is what we will continue to do.
“I don’t think there is a change in the approach of the team that is activated on the basis of the fact that we have this situation.”
Externally, however, Stella is of the opinion that it can be a development that adds extra excitement to the title race, because the previously tense-and-take dynamic is replaced by Norris who needs to go more in the offensive.
“In the message he gave from the radio while he was still in the car, Lando has already proven that he processed the situation and he immediately held his constructive mindset,” Stella remarked. “He said,” That is just outside of our control, it’s just a bad luck incident. Nothing we can do, we will continue to fight. “
“So he said himself and I would otherwise not be surprised. He is a very adult person, as I said before, a very honest and a very balanced driver.
“We will give maximum support to ensure that he stays in the Vechtgeest, but, as we said earlier, I think this will come very naturally and, if there is something, we can even see a better version of Lando, because this is time to extract, if there is something more, even more from his potential.
“So I am looking forward to seeing Lando in the coming races. I am sure this will be a great spectacle for Formula 1 and it will make the competition with Oscar even more interesting.”
It can change the way the title race takes place from now on, but McLaren will hope that it turns out not to be the biggest decisive factor in who will be champion in Abu Dhabi.
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