Lando Norris admitted he has a huge mountain to climb in the title race after a late engine failure at the Dutch Grand Prix allowed Oscar Piastri to open up a commanding lead.
A devastated Norris was left sat with his head between his knees by the side of the track at Zandvoort after his engine packed in with seven laps remaining.
Piastri was cruising to a lights-to-flag victory and Norris could offer little threat to his McLaren team-mate but was set to bank 18 points for second and keep the Australian’s advantage to 16.
He reported smoke from his cockpit on lap 53 and his car soon ground to a halt.
No words #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/2hpDFow1t9
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2025
With nine rounds of the 24-race championship remaining, Piastri – who claimed his seventh win of the season – now has a significant advantage and Norris knows his hopes of a maiden title have taken a major hit.
“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,” Norris said.
“I have a good team-mate, he’s strong, he’s quick in every situation, every scenario.
“It’s hard to get things back on someone who is just good in pretty much every situation.
“It certainly hasn’t helped. It’s a lot of points to lose so quickly and so easily.
“Nothing I can control now, just take it on the chin and move on. But it’s almost a big enough gap now that I can just chill out about it and just go for it.”
Norris lost second place to the fast-starting home favourite Max Verstappen on the opening lap, the Dutchman blasting around the outside of turn two to delight his fervent support.
The British driver was soon back ahead, charging through on lap nine, but Piastri had pulled clear.
Norris could not offer a threat to Piastri at either safety-car restart – when Ferrari pair Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both ended up in the barriers at turn three.
But he held off Verstappen on both occasions and McLaren appeared set to land a record-equalling fifth successive one-two finish before a rare reliability issue.
DRIVER STANDINGS (after 15/24 rounds)
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 31, 2025
Piastri ⬅️ 34 points ➡️ Norris#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/DzBBJvu1Mj
“The team have done a very good job over the last two years. I think we’ve had pretty much minimal… this might be the first one that I can remember that’s cost us any points or anything at all,” Norris added.
“It’s just frustrating, unlucky and that’s it.”
Norris added to Sky Sports: “I just want to have a burger and go home.”
Verstappen came home to finish second and Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar claimed a first career podium, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in fourth.
Hamilton failed to score points for the second successive race, after finishing 12th last time out, when he careered into the wall on lap 23.
It was a double elimination for Ferrari as Leclerc was driven into by Kimi Antonelli and himself ended up in the barriers.
Piastri navigated the chaos with a minimum of fuss and is now the huge favourite to win his first championship but he is not taking his lead for granted.
“There is still a long way to go, I need to keep pushing and try to win races still,” Piastri said.
“I don’t think it’s a comfortable margin, it can change with one DNF very quickly. With this far to go, it’s not a comfortable gap.”
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