Lando Norris comes to F1 title realisation after McLaren heartbreak

Lando Norris believes he must "win every race" if he has any hope of beating team-mate Oscar Piastri to the F1 drivers' title following his Dutch GP heartbreak. 

Norris was running second to Piastri at Zandvoort and was set to see his deficit grow to 16 points had he finished second to the Australian, but in the closing stages, his Mercedes power unit failed, forcing him to retire.

With Piastri winning, the points gap between the pair is now 34, meaning Norris would have to win five grands prix with Piastri second to overhaul his team-mate by one point. 

Norris has suffered two non-scores in the 2025 season, with the other being his 18th-place classified finish in Canada after ramming Piastri in the closing stages.

Reflecting on his situation, Norris has come to the realisation that he simply needs to win all remaining nine grands prix to claim his maiden title.

"The only thing I can do now is win every race," Norris told media, including RacingNews365. 

"That is going to be difficult, but I'll make sure I give it everything I can. 

"I didn't lose out by much in qualifying and felt on top of things, and the pace looked strong [in the race], so there are many positives.

"It is just close, I have a good team-mate, he's strong and quick in every scenario and situation, but this was a different situation, it is just unlucky, it's not my fault, and sometimes, that is just racing. 

'It's only made it harder for me and put me under more pressure, but the gap is big enough now that I can just chill out about it.

"The team and HPP have done a very good job over the two years, and this might be the first [engine failure] I can remember that has cost us points. 

"It is not inevitable at this point, because everyone works to such high standards, we don't expect it, so that's why it is just unlucky. 

"It is not like the olden days when you pretty much blew up every other race, so we don't expect it, and it it just really unlucky."