Losing could be 'mentally beneficial' for Norris.
Lando Norris departed Zandvoort feeling downcast after an oil leak cost him second place, possibly impacting the title race significantly. Having just missed out on pole position to teammate Oscar Piastri, Norris was in pursuit of him on Sunday when his McLaren came to a halt, engulfed in smoke. Images of the Brit sitting alone on the sand dunes brought to mind Mika Hakkinen’s emotional moment at Monza in 1999.
“I was hoping you'd run into Piastri,” Norris quipped to Max Verstappen afterwards, referencing the Dutch driver’s daring move on the first lap. Verstappen responded with a laugh, “Yeah? Just take him out. I tried,” he joked with his friend and Viaplay. “Hey, next week you’ll have a new engine, and a bit more power.”
Despite the banter, Norris wasn't in the mood to joke, stating he simply wanted a “burger and to go home.” “I blame myself for nothing,” he remarked. “But if I end up losing the World Championship because of this, it would be difficult.”
Sky Deutschland's Ralf Schumacher attempted to console the 25-year-old, saying, “As crazy as this sounds, this relieves some pressure off Lando. He can now just race freely again. It may sound odd, but it could be beneficial for him mentally.”
Team principal Andrea Stella also played down concerns that Norris might take unnecessary risks in his comeback. “When Lando says that, he means he’ll push himself even more,” Stella stated. “He’s one of the fairest drivers out there. I don’t anticipate him taking any significant risks competing against Oscar.”
Norris acknowledged that he felt “unlucky” throughout the weekend, narrowly missing pole on Saturday and experiencing McLaren’s first reliability issue in a long time on Sunday. “It was an oil leak,” Stella confirmed. “We’ve identified a problem with the chassis and will perform a thorough check before Monza next week. This is the first technical failure for the team after an extended period of seamless reliability.”
The Briton also surprised many by suggesting that if he ever becomes world champion, he might follow Nico Rosberg’s lead and retire immediately. “Sometimes it's best to depart after winning, like Nico did,” Norris stated, as reported by Total-Motorsport and MTV Finland. “Just one championship. No need to continue after that. You’ve reached your goal and can start living an amazing life.”
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