Lando Norris

Wolff sees echoes of Hamilton’s Sepang heartbreak in Norris’ Dutch GP retirement

14:30, 03 Sep

bySamson Ero

Toto Wolff drew parallels between Lando Norris' misfortune in Zandvoort and Lewis Hamilton’s heartbreaking engine failure during the 2016 Malaysia Grand Prix.

The Mercedes team principal recalled how the British driver lost out on the lead of the race after suffering an engine failure at the Sepang circuit. Speaking to the media, including GPblog, after Norri’s engine blowout, Wolff noted the similarities between both incidents but also highlighted the difference in the context of the championship battle.

“Yeah, you know, we had, like you said, Lewis Malaysia with a failure that cost him 25 points. He was in the lead. So that's a bit, you know, what I saw today.”

"The difference is that maybe there are eight races left. Are there eight races? There are nine races left. So 225 points to collect. Certainly a blow to the championship, but not impossible.”

The 2016 incident involving engine failure incident which Mercedes would eventually diagnose a due to a bearing failure, witnessed Hamilton’s deficit to then teammate, Nico Rosberg, to 23 points. On Norris’ part, his engine failure saw the gap to the top of the drivers’ championship increase to 34 points with nine races left on the calendar.

Lando Norris during the Dutch Grand Prix

Lando Norris’ reaction to his engine failure at Zandvoort

Earlier, GPblog detailed how Lando Norris reacted to his Dutch Grand Prix incident. The McLaren driver detailed how the engine failure, though unpleasant, could happen to any driver on the grid.

Norris, however expressed optimism about taking the fight to Oscar Piastri for the final races on the Formula 1 calendar.