Together with Mercedes, McLaren has collected the most points in Canada. According to Lando Norris, at least seven more could have been achieved. The Formula 1 winner from Miami is struggling with his team’s strategy decision during the first safety car. His conclusion after 70 laps in Montreal is clear: “We should have won the race!”
McLaren with wrong strategy: Had the fastest car
“But we didn’t. It’s that simple,” regrets Norris. Looking back: After a rather weak start, Lando Norris increased his pace significantly as the conditions dried out. The McLaren driver caught up with Max Verstappen and George Russell. First he caught up with Verstappen, and one lap later he caught up with Russell too.
He quickly extended his lead. When the first safety car came out on lap 25, Norris was already over eleven seconds ahead. A few hundred meters before Norris left the pits, the safety car symbol was already lit up on the display boards. But McLaren left Norris out in the heat of the battle.
“The mistake was the decision before the safety car. We had enough time to come into the pits,” complained Norris. The competition, who had ten seconds more time to react to the safety car, came into the pits. Norris reacted one lap later – and lost not only first place, but also second place.
“We simply made the wrong decision. It’s frustrating, but second place is still a good result,” said Norris. “In retrospect, we could have told the driver to come into the pits. So he would have pitted instinctively, but we analyzed the situation and didn’t want to make an unnecessary pit stop. It was easier for the car behind us to do the opposite,” said McLaren team boss Andrea Stella.
At least: A few laps later, McLaren made the right decision. While the competition reacted to Lewis Hamilton’s stop on slicks and also switched to dry tires, Norris stayed on the track for a few laps longer. “Staying on the intermediate helped me. A cold slick will never be as good as the inter at the end of the stint,” said Norris.
That was exactly what happened. Norris at least regained his position against George Russell by overcutting, but it was not enough for Verstappen in the dry. “I probably didn’t push enough in the middle of the inter-stint to give myself a better chance of overcutting or undercutting Max.”
Lando Norris is pleased with McLaren performance
McLaren’s performance was positive again in Canada. Especially in drying conditions, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are in a league of their own. “We seem to be performing well everywhere,” says Norris.
The Papayas leave Montreal with Piastri in fifth place and Norris in second place, with 28 points in their luggage – once again more than Red Bull and especially more than Ferrari, who leave with zero points. However, Mercedes seems to be another team entering the top fight.
“Let’s see where Mercedes are in Barcelona. They were the faster team this weekend. If they join the fight, they will make our lives more difficult,” fears Norris. Mercedes took third and fourth place with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. You can read how the record world champion’s race went here.