Andrea Stella reveals what Lando Norris said about the F1 championship after Dutch Grand Prix retirement

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Lando Norris’ hopes of a first Formula 1 world championship suffered a seismic blow as he retired from the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday. The failure leaves him 34 points behind McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.

While Norris, who’d started second, looked unlikely to catch Piastri, the lead was only set to grow by seven points. Instead, it ballooned by 25, which may be decisive in this season’s title race.

Norris reported an oil leak over the radio before stopping at the side of the track. He was visibly dejected as he sat on the grass embankment behind the barriers.

Piastri saw out the victory when the race resumed following the late safety-car period. It’s McLaren’s first mechanical DNF of the 2025 season.

Lando Norris vowed to ‘look forward’ after heartbreaking Dutch Grand Prix DNF

Speaking on F1TV’s post-race show, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella played down the significance of the result for the championship. There are still nine races remaining, and with three of them being Sprints, another 249 points are available.

And while there will be thorough investigations after the Dutch Grand Prix, it’s clear that the MCL39 is no longer bulletproof. One retirement for Piastri, whatever the cause, could completely change the picture.

Still, given that the two McLaren drivers have been extremely close and in a league of their own, this certainly could be the moment that gets revisited at the end of the season.

According to Stella, Norris doesn’t see it that way. He’s already told the team to focus on the next race, where he’ll look to reduce the lead to at least 29.

Stella said: “I haven’t talked to him yet, but I know that he has already said very clearly that ‘we look forward, we look at the next race, we will try and recover the points’. That’s the spirit, the ethos, the attitude that we expect in Lando, like in any driver.

“We’ll look forward to fighting spirit from Lando’s side. Joy for Oscar, but it’s still not even two-thirds of this championship. Long way to go.”

Oscar Piastri’s message to McLaren teammate Lando Norris

Before the race, David Coulthard remarked that Norris was surprisingly ‘relaxed’. Neither McLaren driver has been in this position before.

Now, there may have to be a mentality shift. Norris simply has no margin for the errors that have dented his title bid up to this point – the race in Monza already feels like a must-win, for example.

Piastri was sympathetic towards the ‘incredibly unfortunate’ Norris in parc ferme. He won’t want this to be the defining moment of the season, but reliability often plays a part in F1 championship battles.

Jolyon Palmer said Norris was the luckier McLaren driver before the summer break, but that narrative will certainly change now.