“Today was tough," says Norris after McLaren's disastrous outing in Montreal

McLaren endured a difficult Canadian Grand Prix after a bold but ultimately costly strategic decision to start both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on Intermediate tyres while most rivals opted for slicks.

With only light drizzle falling on the grid and no further rain arriving, the gamble quickly unravelled and left both drivers on the back foot from the opening laps.

Norris initially made the most of the Intermediates, launching into the lead at Turn 1. But with the track drying rapidly, he was forced to pit early, just as Piastri had already done at the end of the first lap. The double stop dropped both McLarens out of the top ten — and the situation only worsened from there.

Piastri locked up while battling Ollie Bearman and slid into the side of Alex Albon’s Williams, damaging his front wing. He was handed a 10‑second penalty for the collision, ending any realistic chance of scoring points. Norris, meanwhile, required a second pit stop after running wide, and his race came to a premature end when McLaren detected a suspected gearbox issue and retired the car.

After the race, Norris reflected on the strategic call and the challenges that followed. He said: “Today was tough. We made the decision to start on Intermediates because it was still spitting on the grid, and while the start was fantastic, the rain eased and that choice proved wrong beyond the first lap.

"That’s racing. Sometimes those decisions win you a race, sometimes they don’t and I take my share of responsibility for that decision.”

He explained that the team’s early‑race problems were compounded by the cold conditions: “We also had to deal with a couple of early stops and, in the end, a mechanical failure that put us out of the race.

"In the cold conditions we couldn’t get the fronts up to temperature, which made the car hard to handle, but even so I think we were on for decent points.”

Despite the disappointment, Norris remained positive about McLaren’s underlying pace: “There are still plenty of positives to take from the weekend. Our pace was strong, we fought the Mercedes, and the support from the fans was brilliant.”