Lando Norris’ engine on fire, heartbreak DNF at F1 Dutch Grand Prix

McLaren’s Lando Norris retired from the Dutch Grand Prix with just seven laps to go due to a technical failure, dealing a major blow to Briton’s hope of a maiden Formula 1 title.

Norris was running second behind teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri in the closing stages of the race at Zandvoort on lap 65 when he suddenly stopped on track on lap with smoke coming out of his car.

“Oil leak, I’m out. Failure,” he said.

There was visible smoke and fire coming from his car.

Teammate Piastri went on to win the F1 Dutch Grand Prix to give himself an even greater lead ahead of Norris in the F1 drivers' championship.

Piastri entered Zandvoort with a nine-point cushion and leaves with a 34-point buffer to Norris.

Lando Norris 'smelled something strange' in his McLaren

Just moments earlier, Norris had sent a message to McLaren over team radio, telling his race engineer that he could smell something strange inside the car.

The DNF - his second of the season after a crash in the Canadian Grand Prix - is set to leave him 34 points behind Piastri with nine races to go.

While the exact cause of the failure is yet to be determined, a number of teams running Mercedes engines had reported technical issues earlier in the season. McLaren was the only Mercedes customer not to suffer a significant problem prior to Zandvoort.

McLaren had not suffered a DNF due to a mechanical failure since Bahrain in 2023, the opening race of that season, two and a half years ago.

The problem also robbed McLaren of a fifth consecutive 1-2 finish.

Norris joined Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc who frustratingly could not finish the Dutch Grand Prix.