How Norris is left with work to do after Montreal Q3 slip
Lando Norris will start the Canadian GP from a frustrated P7
The balance of power at McLaren swung towards Oscar Piastri again in Montreal as Lando Norris finished qualifying in P7 following a frustrating Q3 session.
With Piastri himself only third behind George Russell and Max Verstappen it was a below par performance by the Woking team, reflecting perhaps the normal ebb and flow of circuit form and the fact that even the championship leaders have to get everything right to stay on top.
Norris had been looking solid earlier in qualifying, taking second spot in Q2, but it came undone in the final part.
“Just a couple of big mistakes,” he said when I asked him about his session. “One, hitting the wall on the last lap in the exit of seven, and first lap I think the last corner. So yeah, just two mistakes that cost me, I guess.
“I think we've clearly not been as quick as normal. I think that's just because of the layout of the track. I think the car is still performing relatively well.
“And I was happy through all the qualifying. Maybe not the car to take pole today, but quick enough to be up there, and then fighting for a top three.”
Norris conceded that Montreal is not an easy track to get right.
“Just very low grip, I think first of all, is one of the bigger things. And therefore the car balance just never comes together as much as what it does in other tracks. So probably just low grip, and some of the kerb riding bumps, which just hurts us it seems more than some others.”
He added: “It's very easy track to just push one percent too much, and pay the price, and that's what I did today.”
Norris is running a front suspension update in Canada as part of an ongoing effort to make him feel more comfortable with the car, especially in qualifying trim. He admitted it was hard to properly assess it.
“It's tough to say, because this track, everything just feels different. So I think it's something we'll have to wait and see on the next few races, through Austria and Silverstone and so forth, to understand, and maybe back-to-back test between them both.
“It's nothing that I felt just yet, but it's more than when you go to a new track, it's hard to remember everything perfectly relative to other tracks. So like I said, we just need a bit more time to understand if it's any better or not.”
Asked if it was expected to be most advantageous in qualifying he said: “I mean, it can be a benefit elsewhere, but it's not a guarantee that's going to be a benefit just yet.
“So like I said, this is aimed to maybe give a bit more feeling. It's not aimed to make us quicker or give the car more performance. So it's again something that we have to review over time.”
From seventh on the grid all is not lost, as Canada is a race in which stuff usually happens, so there is a chance to make progress with good strategy calls, and possibly a little mayhem ahead.
"I hope so. It'll make my race a bit more interesting, and the more opportunity that comes my way the better tomorrow.
“I think we can go forwards anyway, but not a lot. It's not like an easy one-two, like we have been on other tracks. So it's going to be a bit more difficult. But, yeah, anything that can help us will be very welcome.
"I think a podium is tough, just because we don't have the pace we've had in the last few races. But it could be easily, a one, two or three-stop, depending on how the tyres behave tomorrow.
“So of course, I'll hope for a bit more to happen. Not as confident as in other places, for sure, but confident we can go forwards. But clearly, I think we don't have the best car today, so we'll be a struggle to get to the top.”