There he sat, forlorn and broken, among the dunes of Zandvoort. He peeled the knee pads from his legs, his gaze fixed on Oscar Piastri celebrating the Dutch Grand Prix of 2025. For this was the weekend that Lando Norris’ Formula 1 title chances became ever slimmer.
When his McLaren failed on lap 65 of 72, Ralf Schumacher immediately grasped the gravity on commentary for Sky Sports Germany: “This would be tragic if it decided the championship. Truly tragic.” And tragic it was: Norris’ deficit ballooned from nine to 34 points in one cruel instant. A deficit, yes, but not unprecedented. In 2012 Sebastian Vettel trailed Fernando Alonso by 44 points — and still rose to be world champion.
