Norris to ‘go for it’ after Zandvoort title blow

Lando Norris claims that his exit from the Dutch Grand Prix was a blow to his chances of winning the world championship, but he insists he will “go for it” as he recovers from his season.

With nine races left, the Briton, who won while Norris retired with an oil leak, is 34 points behind McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.

The gap between the maximum of 25 points for a race victory and the remaining maximum of 225 points is significantly larger.

“I’m the only person who has the ability to win every race.” Although it will be challenging, I’ll make sure to give it my best efforts.

It’s a “tough one,” of course, which is frustrating. In terms of championship, it definitely hurts a little bit.

“To lose so quickly and easily is a lot of points.” I’ll just take it on the chin and move on because there is nothing I can control right now.

After winning three of his previous four races, Norris was only nine points behind Piastri at Zandvoort after the summer break of Formula 1.

However, Piastri only managed 0. 012 seconds to beat Norris to pole position despite looking quicker all weekend.

With seven laps left, Norris had put the incident in perspective by speaking to the media, but he had already retired and was sitting next to the track with his head in his hands.

He said, “Just want to go have a burger and go home.”

“It was quick today,” I said. This cannot be overtaken by it. Today’s race was a good one. I was relieved that I could stay within 1.5 / 2 seconds.

It was a “positive race,” but it had no significance. I was unable to move past. Today, Oscar deserved it. simply not the weekend I wanted.

Norris took comfort in the fact that he could follow his teammate’s all-race record for a few seconds, which he verified as evidence of his quickerness.

Piastri countered, saying that he could only move as quickly as necessary and that he could make an extension of that time if necessary.

Piastri has been the embodiment of perseverance this year, and he hasn’t made any errors since taking the lead in the season’s opening race when Norris won.

It’s difficult to turn things around on someone who is good in pretty much every circumstance, according to Norris.

“Just have to keep fighting, keep doing what I can.”

Piastri refrained from believing that he now had a clear advantage over the next nine races, with the Italian Grand Prix slated for next weekend, before eight long-haul races around the world to wrap up the season.

The 24-year-old said, “There is still a long way to go.” I must continue to work hard and try to win races. It’s not a very comfortable margin, in my opinion.

It can change very, very quickly with one DNF, as we saw today. It’s not a comfortable gap because we are so far past the end of the year.

Andrea Stella, the McLaren team’s principal, claimed he believed Norris was still competing for the title.

“Stella said, “Without a doubt and without a doubt,” she said. Even Lando’s best efforts will be appreciated as he attempts to make up the errors that he made.

Before becoming a driver, Lando is one of the most fair, balanced, and in a way that almost makes sense.

So, it just means that, if anything, he will try to squeeze even more from his incredible potential when he says he’s going to be full commitment or whatever he said.

Because we are aware of Lando’s incredible talent, I look forward to seeing what he will be capable of expressing.

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes-Benz F1 team’s manager, and Stella and Wolff both claimed it was not yet known whether the oil leak was caused by an engine or chassis issue.

Piastri, who had been a step ahead of Norris throughout the practice sessions, was also praised for his calm approach to pole position and victory.

We have seen the value of building up through the weekend in practice and absorbing the learning, Stella said, so I would say Oscar’s weekend has been a memorable weekend for him.

We have seen the delivery, which qualifies as qualifying, at the moment.

“And then we have seen that he is typically quite comfortable when it rains, manages the circumstances, and executes pretty well.” And he always manages to remain lucid and calm while doing so.

This weekend is one of the, let me say, Oscar-like weekends. It demonstrates his maturity and level of Formula 1 driver skill.

Norris’ situation is similar to Lewis Hamilton’s when he attempted to bridge a gap with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in 2016.

Due to a number of reliability issues, Hamilton finished second in the championship. His engine failed, but he was on the verge of regaining control with a dominant victory in Malaysia toward the end of the year.

In the final five races, Hamilton had to close a 23-point lead over Rosberg.

The German won the following weekend in Japan, but Hamilton came in just short despite winning the previous four races.

Wolff claimed on Sunday that his relationship with Hamilton had strained as a result of his retirement from Malaysia.

“Super difficult,” Wolff said. since you’re letting a bus driver down. You could say that was a single incident during a long season. However, Lewis is doing the job, leading the race, bridging a significant championship gap, and then blowing an engine.

“That was difficult for him, and it affected our relationship.”

Wolff made the point that Norris has much more time than Hamilton to recover the deficit.