Max Verstappen has told Lando Norris how he must now approach his Oscar Piastri F1 title fight

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McLaren driver Lando Norris suffered an unfortunate setback in his quest to win his first Formula 1 drivers’ championship.

Oscar Piastri took pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix and led from start to finish to record his first Formula 1 grand slam.

However, it could have been very different had Lando Norris been able to find 13 thousandths on his best flying lap on Saturday.

Norris topped every practice session, but narrowly missed out on pole position, and as soon as Max Verstappen found a way around his McLaren on the opening lap, his chances of winning the race plummeted.

Even if Norris had found a way past Piastri, it wouldn’t have mattered, as he suffered a mechanical failure in the closing stages of the race.

It was a heartbreaking moment, and has given Piastri a 34-point lead in the drivers’ championship.

It’s far from unassailable with nine race weekends left, but Norris needs to refocus in the championship fight, and Verstappen might have just told him exactly how to do so.

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Max Verstappen explains how Lando Norris has to approach Oscar Piastri title fight after Dutch Grand Prix DNF

Verstappen was talking in the official post-race press conference, and the topic of his intense title fight with Hamilton in 2021 and the setbacks he faced that season arose.

He was asked how quickly he managed to pick himself up after those moments in relation to Norris’ engine failing, and explained: “I mean, it’s out of your control.

“So, you just need to keep working hard, keep trying to win. As simple as that.

“Especially when you are teammates, you have the same car, same opportunities.

“It’s probably a little bit more complicated than when it’s two different teams, but still a lot of races, and you can see things can swing.

“Like Oscar said, you don’t know if you get a mechanical failure or not; it’s out of your control.

“So yes, it’s not ideal, but there are enough races to either turn it around or not, and time will tell.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Oscar Piastri admits safety car restarts were the ‘hardest part’ of Dutch Grand Prix amid Lando Norris pressure

Zandvoort is notoriously difficult to overtake at, which is why there were several key incidents surrounding some slightly controversial on-track moves.

George Russell wasn’t happy with Charles Leclerc’s overtake going into turns 11 and 12, but not as unhappy as Leclerc was with Andrea Kimi Antonelli when he took him out of the race.

Carlos Sainz couldn’t believe he was penalised for his attempted move on Liam Lawson, although Norris’ overtake on Verstappen was a highlight of the Grand Prix.

Piastri admitted the ‘hardest part’ of the Dutch Grand Prix was the three safety car restarts.

It gave Norris two opportunities to catch his teammate out, and then Verstappen was the car behind him on the final occasion on far softer tyres.

However, he held on, and that could prove decisive in the championship battle.

Norris has to take Verstappen’s advice on not getting caught up in events he has no control over, and simply focus on what he can control between now and Abu Dhabi.