McLaren has identified the cause of the reliability issue that forced Lando Norris to retire from the Dutch Grand Prix. According to the team, the failure did not come from the Mercedes engine, but from a problem in the chassis of the single-seater. Norris was forced to abandon the race in Zandvoort with seven laps to go. Smoke began to come out of his McLaren, which frustrated his hopes in the competition. This setback affected the aspirations of Norris, who was in second place, behind his teammate Oscar Piastri, before the failure. Initially, an oil leak was diagnosed, but it was unclear whether it came from the power unit supplied by Mercedes or from some part of the car designed and built by McLaren. The team principal, Andrea Stella, provided an update on the issue before the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Norris is now 34 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ standings, with nine races remaining in the season. Stella regretted that the problem affected the battle for the title between her two drivers.We have identified a problem with the chassis and will conduct a complete review before competing again in Monza. This is the first technical issue for the team after a long period of impeccable reliability.
Andrea Stella
Reliability has been a strong point at McLaren for a long time, today we have had what seems to be a technical reliability problem, which is always disappointing.
Andrea Stella
The McLaren team director also commented…If anything, we could see an even better version of Lando because now is the time to extract, if there is anything more, even more of his potential.
Andrea Stella
