Norris retires from Monaco GP due to power unit failure

Lando Norris, the reigning Formula 1 world champion, was forced to retire from the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, June 7, after a power unit failure. The issue marked the second consecutive race he has failed to finish due to a reliability problem, dealing a significant blow to his title defense.

The McLaren driver was battling for position on Lap 45 on the streets of Monte Carlo when his Mercedes power unit failed. He was instructed by his team to park the car in the pit lane. Norris described hearing multiple irregularities from the engine, turbo, and battery before the unit gave out completely. He stated the team attempted a fix that ultimately made the problem worse before they had to retire the vehicle.

This retirement follows a gearbox-related failure at the previous race in Canada and an earlier electrical issue that led to a DNS in China. With this latest failure, Norris said he is already on his third power unit and third energy store of the season, pushing him dangerously close to exceeding his permitted allocation. The driver warned that grid penalties later in the season are now a strong possibility and called on both McLaren and engine supplier Mercedes to urgently...