Archive August 31, 2025

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.

Anyone who knew Aberdeen could play football heaven on May 24 as the club won the Scottish Cup.

Three months later, the feeling is completely different.

They are bottom of the Scottish Premiership after three league games, three defeats, and three goals scored.

At the start of a new campaign, three league games are ridiculously ridiculous.

However, Jimmy Thelin and Aberdeen’s manager have a problem because people don’t evaluate poor league performance in just three games.

A seventh straight league defeat by the newly promoted Falkirk came at home on December 1.

The team has now won just five Premiership games in their last 30 games since beating Dundee 4-1 at Pittodrie on November 9 despite Nicky Devlin’s contentious red card before half-time.

Kusini Yengi, an unlucky Australian striker, has struggled since he joined in the summer, drawing much of the recent controversy.

The 26-year-old former Portsmouth player scored in the League Cup against Greenock Morton, but he underwent a change of heart and was replaced with Falkirk at half-time.

Fans are desperate to see another striker arrive before the transfer deadline on Monday because Yengi has yet to make it through 90 Premiership games and his shortcomings.

Thelin stated to BBC Scotland that the window’s final day is “busy.”

The Aberdeen boss remarked, “We have a clear plan for what we want to do.”

We’ve identified areas where we want to improve and we’re working really hard, so watch what happens.

Unfortunately, Aberdeen’s lack of goals is not a new issue, despite Scotland’s Kevin Nisbet joining the team last year.

Only Ross County and St Johnstone, who are currently relegated, have scored fewer goals than Aberdeen since the start of the season, excluding Falkirk and Livingston, who have now played three top-flight games.

Unsurprisingly, they also have a very low conversion rate and a lot of big chances, which is surprising.

Willie Miller, the former Aberdeen captain, said on BBC Scotland’s Sportsound that “they don’t have a predator, a striker that looks like they’re going to score goals.”

One thing about having no one to convert chances is that you have to actually create opportunities for forward players.

Aberdeen are lacking in another way.

Only Dundee, St Johnstone, and Ross County, the bottom three in the previous campaign, have a lower tally than Aberdeen’s 48 when you look at expected goals from the start of last season.

For total crosses played into the opposition’s box, they rank sixth and slightly worse at seventh, just looking at the total number of chances created outright.

Jamie McGrath has left for Hibernian, while Shayden Morris and Nisbet have each contributed 10 assists. In the last 13 months, Jamie McGrath has been the club’s top creator. Morris appears on his way to Luton Town after Nasbet has left Millwall and travels there.

Fans were captivated by the intense, attacking football when Thelin had won 13 straight games before.

However, it hasn’t consistently materialized since, and despite the Swede switching to three at the back for the gutsy Scottish Cup final win, it appears to be a stellar one-off rather than a turning point.

Thelin remarked, “The level we’re currently performing as a team in terms of our calmness of play and decision-making is not good enough, and that’s my responsibility.”

Under chairman Dave Cormack’s leadership, Aberdeen’s strategy was to invest in young players who could then be re-sold.

With a trophy to show for it and more money in player sales than any other club since 2018, the Dons could confidently say that it is working because many clubs are now using it.

The issue is that with each departure, there must be adequate replacements, and young players always come with a risk.

Aberdeen have fielded squads this year that are among the youngest in the nation, with an average age of 25.

Some of the newcomers signed last season have yet to take off, including Nicolas Milanovic, Adil Aouchiche, and Yengi, whose careers are still ablaze.

As they settle in a new country, freshmen, especially those from abroad, should have plenty of time.

However, Hearts’ players Ivan Dolcek and Zac Sapsford, as well as Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis, have hit the ground running for Dundee United.

Sapsford, who has three United goals this season and been a standout, both played for Milanovic and Western Sydney Wanderers.

There is more expectation for many of these players now that the Dons are spending, figuratively speaking, a lot of money in addition to Hearts and Hibs.

Jimmy Thelin has a lot to think about, Miller said. Many project players have been incorporated by him, but the fruits are still to be seen.

“It’s a very young squad and there are so many new players signing.” Many of them are under the age of 23. They lack a lot of experience.

After a difficult first season in the league, I felt Jimmy Thelin needed to win this game [versus Falkirk]. However, the squad will also be tested, just like he will.

All of these players must be persuaded that their abilities are sufficient to serve the club.

Thelin and Aberdeen will have to wait a long time.

First, action on deadline day is anticipated by fans, and games against Livingston and Motherwell already have a significant impact after the international break.