Lando Norris rejects Oscar Piastri claims as McLaren star admits frustrations

Lando Norris has made it clear he feels he doesn't need to rely on his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri's misfortune to secure the F1 championship. The British racer is currently trailing Piastri by 34 points, with nine rounds and a potential 249 points still up for grabs, following his retirement from the Dutch Grand Prix due to engine failure. Norris' early exit at Zandvoort puts him in a challenging position in his pursuit of his first drivers' title.

Given McLaren's dominance, any mechanical issues for Piastri could provide Norris with an opportunity to close the gap. However, speaking ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Norris stated: "I can still win the championship without anything happening [to Piastri] and that is the way I wish to do it. It would certainly make my life easier if there were some more drivers in between us every now and then, but we are so dominant as a team, that almost makes my life harder. That is really the most frustrating part of it all. But may the best man win, may the best driver win. If that is the case at the end of the season (and Piastri wins) then I will respect that."

Norris was on track to finish second behind Piastri at Zandvoort before his power unit failed in the final stages. The Australian would have gained an additional seven points over his team-mate, but the unfortunate engine failure allowed him to secure a 25-point advantage instead.

Piastri has secured seven victories this season, outpacing Norris by two wins, although the British driver remains the only McLaren racer to endure a race-ending mechanical breakdown this campaign.

The Australian hasn't failed to see the chequered flag since the 2023 United States Grand Prix in October that year.

Nevertheless, Norris continued: "It's just something that happens. It's not [team principal] Andrea [Stella] or [chief executive] Zak [Brown's] fault. We were on the back of 60 or so races without a technical failure and that is something we were pretty proud about.

"So for that to happen, that's just unlucky, and it wasn't a bad job done by anyone. The team apologised to me because they felt as though they have let me down. The same way I apologise to them if I feel like I have let them down.

"But that is life, you cannot do anything about it, and if I lose the championship by those points, then I just have to take it on the chin, move on and hold my head high and try and do it again next year. I cannot dwell on it."

Regarding Piastri, the championship frontrunners acknowledged he recognises his teammate is "certainly not out of the fight".

He added: "It is a bit more difficult now, but I do not expect much to change. I think we will race each other the same way. I think the amount of risk-taking will be the same – we are both trying to drive as fast as we can and it is not like we have been holding anything back from that side of things, so I do not expect anything to change."