Norris: Nothing to lose in F1 2025 title fight after Dutch GP exit

McLaren's Lando Norris acknowledged his 2025 Formula 1 title bid has "only been made harder" by his Dutch Grand Prix retirement - adding the gap to Oscar Piastri is now so big he can just drive all out in the remaining races.

Norris was pipped to pole by team-mate Piastri by 0.012s and looked set to collect a straightforward runner-up finish to limit the damage to his title rival to a seven-point loss.

But a minor defeat turned into a major hammer blow, as Norris's McLaren developed a suspected power unit problem with seven laps remaining, forcing the Briton to retire. 

"I don't know what the actual issue was, the engine just shut off and that was it," Norris explained. 

“I think it was pretty instant. It's not my fault, nothing I can really do. Just not my weekend, a little bit unlucky yesterday with the wind and unlucky today.

“It's a 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. Nothing I can control, so I just take it on the chin and move on."

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images

With Piastri claiming a seventh win of the season, he now leads Norris by 34 points with nine rounds remaining, meaning the Briton must make up an average of four points per weekend from now on.

Norris admitted Zandvoort could be a turning point as it made his bid "only harder", but he felt his deficit has become so big that he feels he has a lot less to lose from now on.

"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," he acknowledged. "I thought, honestly, this weekend was good. I didn't lose out by much in qualifying, but I felt always pretty on top of things.

"A couple of little areas to improve on, but if it wasn't for a little gust of wind I'd be on pole and I'm sure the race would have looked a bit different today. The pace was very strong today.”

Addressing his fight with the extremely consistent Piastri, he added: "It's just close. I have a good team-mate, he's strong, he's quick in every scenario, so it's hard to get things back on someone who's just good in pretty much every situation. But yeah, it certainly hasn't helped the [title] 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.”