Damon Hill pinpoints what’s so ‘disappointing’ about Lando Norris’ Canadian Grand Prix crash with Oscar Piastri

McLaren CEO Zak Brown predicted that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri would clash this season.

The Canadian Grand Prix has seen McLaren teammates collide before when Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button crashed on a nearly identical part of the track in 2011.

Oscar Piastri went into the race leading the drivers’ championship and had a 10-point advantage over Lando Norris before outqualifying him once again this year.

Martin Brundle spotted a ‘glitch’ in Norris’ qualifying performance that saw him start the race in P7 and opt for the hard tyres on a day where tyre degradation was going to play a key role.

However, Norris looked like the faster driver during the race after starting on the alternative strategy and in the closing stages caught up to his teammate.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was on his way to securing the first podium of his Formula 1 career, but both McLaren drivers were hot on his heels and in DRS range.

Norris briefly overtook his teammate at the hairpin before the back straight, before Piastri drafted past him and retook P4 at the chicane.

What happened next ended Norris’ race and left former F1 champion Damon Hill very disappointed, as Piastri managed to extend his lead in the drivers’ championship despite failing to finish on the podium for only the second time this season.

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Damon Hill laments ‘disappointing’ Lando Norris crash at the Canadian Grand Prix

Piastri and Norris looked set to battle going into the first corner and heading into the final laps of the race.

Norris had the slipstream and pace advantage but completely misjudged the amount of space to Piastri’s left going down the main straight.

In a collision that was very reminiscent of a collision between Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button 14 years ago, he ran into the back of his teammate and slammed into the barriers.

Piastri didn’t sustain enough damage for his race to come to an end, but reacting to Norris’ race-ending mistake, Hill said: “What’s disappointing is that was building to a magnificent climax.

“And instead …… Safety ending. Still, well done @GeorgeRussell63.”

It’s only right that Hill ended his message with some praise for George Russell after securing the fourth victory of his career.

Even Verstappen reserved praise for Russell after the race, putting their recent rivalry aside to highlight what a good job the British driver did in Montreal.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Lando Norris loses further ground on Oscar Piastri in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship

At the end of the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen was 49 points behind Piastri in the championship and ruled himself out of contention to add a fifth title to his collection.

The Australian will be disappointed that he was leapfrogged by Antonelli on the opening lap which cost him at least three points.

However, he’s gone from 23 points behind Norris after the opening race to 22 points ahead of his closest rival.

All it would take is one retirement from Piastri and a victory for his teammate to wipe out his lead completely.

However, a mistake that Norris immediately apologised for on the team radio highlights his fallibility and after failing to maximise his potential in qualifying, he needs to find a way to avoid these errors.

McLaren aren’t happy with Nico Rosberg’s suggestion that Norris needs to see a psychologist, but the 25-year-old will be frustrated that he’s thrown more points away in Canada.