Norris' F1 failure: McLaren blames the chassis, not Mercedes

McLaren reveals the cause of the problem in Lando Norris’ car at the Dutch Grand Prix

The McLaren team has identified the cause of the reliability issue that forced Lando Norris to retire from the Dutch Grand Prix. The failure, which ended Norris’s race, originated in the chassis of the single-seater, ruling out a problem with the Mercedes engine. Norris was forced to retire seven laps from the end at Zandvoort, when smoke began to come out of his car, both from the cockpit and the rear. This abandonment was a hard blow for Norris’ aspirations in the championship, as he was in second position, behind his teammate, Oscar Piastri, before the failure. Initially, the problem was diagnosed as an oil leak, but it was unclear whether it came from the power unit supplied by Mercedes or a part of the car designed and built by McLaren. In a press release issued on Sunday evening, team principal Andrea Stella offered an update on the issue ahead of next week’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

We have identified a problem with the chassis and will conduct a complete review before returning to compete in Monza. This is the first technical issue for the team after a long period of impeccable reliability.
Andrea Stella

Norris is now 34 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ standings, with nine races remaining in the season. Before the problem was fully diagnosed, Stella lamented that it would affect the championship fight between her two drivers. Stella affirmed that reliability has been a strong point at McLaren for a long time, but today’s technical problem is disappointing.

Lando Norris se vio obligado a retirarse en el Gran Premio de los Países Bajos, mientras que su compañero de equipo, Oscar Piastri, consiguió el máximo de 25 puntos.

The McLaren team boss believes Norris will use this setback as motivation for the rest of the season. Stella hopes to see an improved version of Lando, who will seek to make the most of his potential.

Although Piastri’s 34-point advantage would allow him to retire from the next race, seeing Norris win and still lead the championship by nine points, the Australian considers the margin too small to feel comfortable.

Piastri insists that there is still a long way to go and that he needs to keep pushing to win races. The driver states that the situation can change rapidly with a single retirement, so he does not consider the advantage to be comfortable at this stage of the season.