Lando Norris may have missed out on his chance to win his second Formula 1 Grand Prix of the season, but he wasn’t complaining after a very flawless performance in Montreal.
Norris started the Canadian Grand Prix from third on the grid and made time from the start. But as the cars ahead began to struggle for traction in the ever-changing conditions, Norris came to life.
He was able to pick off first Max Verstappen and then George Russell to take the race lead on lap 21. But the timing of Logan Sargeant’s first safety car for retirement didn’t work in his favor.
Norris had built up a lead too large over his rivals to react in time and dive into the pit lane, too far behind and forced to do another lap before coming in to allow Verstappen to take the lead.
In some ways, it was revenge for what happened in Miami, where Norris was instrumental in getting his first win. This time it helped lead to a Red Bull radio message from Verstappen declaring: “What happens comes back.”
Norris then attempted to overcut to move ahead of Verstappen, but barely managed to achieve it. He was able to pass Russell at the finish to take second place and thought it was a good day’s work.
After the game he declared, “It was chaos!” “It was eventful. To be honest, I felt like I had a good race from start to finish.
“The first two periods were very strong. I had amazing speeds,” he continued. “The first time I was in the lead it was 10, 12 seconds and I was leading by about 2 or 3 seconds a lap. Everything was going beautifully.
“Then the safety car took me away,” he continued. “Just like it helped me in Miami, now it helps me come back. Of course, because it’s Montreal, there’s always work to do.
“Honestly, I thought it was a pretty perfect race for me,” he insisted. “I was a bit unlucky, but that’s it. It worked for me in Miami, so I’m not going to be one to complain. It happens. Sometimes I’m racing.
“But it was good fair play to Max. He ran a good race with no mistakes. It’s really fun and I’m glad I gave the team a good score for the second time. Have a good weekend.
“It was really fun,” he said. “These conditions are so stressful in the car, but at the same time very enjoyable. “I had a good race, the car was great all weekend, thank you to the team.
“We are close! I am happy to be close once again and to be on the podium, so we will keep fighting.”
Oscar Piastri started in the McLaren second row alongside Norris, but the Australian lost the race on a hot Sunday afternoon, finishing in fifth place, behind the two Mercedes drivers.
“If we had done a little bit better, me and the team could have had a slightly better result, or maybe we would have had a better chance of getting a better result.
“In the end we were a bit vulnerable to the Mercedes with the new tyres,” he said. “Being the first vehicle they would attack meant I had to do my job well.
“Just one or two more laps and I think we can get Lando too, it looks very close,” he suggested.
“I think it is a solid result to get such a decent score as the highest scoring team of the weekend in a weekend where so much could have gone wrong both in qualifying and in the race.”
In fact, Lewis Hamilton’s bonus point for fastest lap meant Mercedes and McLaren were level on 28 points in Montreal. Verstappen’s win meant Red Bull were 25 points behind despite Sergio Perez failing to finish.
There were no points for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz retired from Sunday’s race. This means McLaren is just 40 points behind the Italian Scuderia after nine rounds of the 2024 championship.
Norris is seven points behind Leclerc in the drivers’ standings and has a 23-point advantage over his original McLaren team-mate Sainz.
Keep up to date with all your F1 news with: Facebook and Twitter
