McLaren has taken full responsibility for Lando Norris's retirement from the Dutch Grand Prix, confirming the issue stemmed from the chassis side of his MCL39, not the Mercedes power unit. This revelation absolves their engine supplier of any blame.
Why it matters:
- This clarifies the nature of the mechanical failure, addressing initial speculation that pointed towards a power unit issue.
- It marks a rare reliability setback for McLaren, a team that has maintained a strong record of durability.
- The incident has significantly impacted Lando Norris's championship standing against his teammate, Óscar Piastri.
The details:
Team Principal Andrea Stella explained late Sunday that the problem was "on the chassis side" of Norris's car. This contradicts initial assumptions, which were fueled by Norris's radio message about "smoke" in the cockpit and the engine "just shut off," coupled with Mercedes' history of power unit challenges this season.
- Stella highlighted that this is McLaren's "first technical problem for the team after a long run of faultless reliability."
- The team plans a "full review" of the issue before the next race in Monza.
The bigger picture:
The retirement proved costly for Norris. He was already facing a potential 7-point drop behind Piastri, but the DNF now leaves him with a 34-point deficit in the intra-team championship battle with nine rounds remaining.
- Stella emphasized that McLaren considers chassis and engine as "one single team," accepting collective responsibility.
- The focus is now on learning from the failure and ensuring "reliability is not a factor anymore for the future."
What's next:
McLaren will conduct a thorough investigation to prevent any recurrence of the chassis issue. The team aims to rebound at the upcoming Italian Grand Prix in Monza, continuing its push for strong results.