McLaren: Norris Dutch GP retirement not caused by engine issue

McLaren explain cause of Norris DNF

There have already been several key moments in this year’s title race.

However, yesterday’s race was the first time a McLaren driver has retired from a car-related issue in 2025.

In a season where Piastri and Norris have been evenly matched, a DNF could be game-changing.

There is still time for Norris to overturn the 34-point deficit to his teammate.

Even without an engine failure, nine race weekends is still enough to eliminate this gap.

At the same time, Norris will have to perform at the highest level in order to achieve this.

The British driver hasn’t won three consecutive races this year – which is something he will likely have to change for any chance of winning the title.

Of course, there is always the chance of Piastri having a retirement later in the season.

It is still possible that an eventful race, particularly one in wet conditions, throws a spanner in the works and causes Piastri some headaches.

Regardless, McLaren have voiced their disappointment at one of their drivers being forced to retire.

Speaking post-race, Andrea Stella revealed the team’s understanding of Norris’ DNF:

“We’ve identified an issue on the chassis side, and we will do a full review before we go racing again in Monza.

“This is the first technical problem for the team after a long run of faultless reliability.

“Thank you to the entire team for their continues effort which led to another victory, as we continue our journey together.”

Norris has no margin for error

As outlined previously, it would be premature for Norris to be written off from this year’s title race.

With nine races and a few Sprint Races left to contest, there are plenty of points still available.

At the same time, the British driver will likely depend on Piastri dropping big points to boost his chances of cutting down the gap.

Unfortunately for Norris, there have been virtually no big errors from Piastri this season.

Since his Australian GP spin, Piastri has only finished outside of the podium once – in Canada.

Going beyond this year, the #81 car has not failed to score points since last year’s Miami GP.

This puts Norris in a very tricky situation, where any mistake could be detrimental.

Although his current 34-point deficit is not insurmountable, the British driver cannot afford the gap to increase.

At this weekend’s Italian GP, a victory for Piastri would extend his advantage to at least 41 points – a cushion that would be even more significant.

Because of this, Norris is not just working to close the gap, but also to ensure it doesn’t extend.