McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella believes Lando Norris was “trying too hard” in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying, resulting in a scruffy lap that left him starting seventh in Montreal.
After claiming the team had suffered its “worst Friday” of the season so far, Norris looked to have been on the road to recovery when he set the fastest time in FP3 ahead of qualifying.
But he would ultimately end up on the fourth row as he failed to hook up a flying lap good enough to put him among the top times, admitting that he made “a couple of big mistakes”.
Norris has previously been critical of his own qualifying attempts this season, but Stella put the latest effort down to the Briton – second to team-mate Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ championship – wanting to push too much.
“I can confirm that despite the outcome in Q3, there are steps forward in how comfortable Lando is in the car,” he said.
“At the start of the season, he definitely was commenting on the fact that he didn’t have enough queuing, especially from the steering and in understanding where the front grip was.
“Despite the struggle of the car, Lando was actually quite competitive throughout the weekend. And it was quite impressive that he went through Q3 just by using used tyres in Q2, so we were quite optimistic for Q3.
“I think, in this case, it’s simply one of those in which Lando just tried too hard.
Lando Norris, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“He felt that the speed was there, but at this track, if you try too hard, then you may have quite a bit of price to pay. And that’s simply what happened.
“So the speed was there, even in the final attempt when he touched the wall. Until that moment, the lap was coming actually quite strong. Definitely in line for pole position.
“Sometimes you have to accept that you can’t always go 100%, especially when a little mistake can be so costly.”
Piastri will start from third, having opted against running McLaren’s front suspension upgrade the team had brought to Canada.
Both cars had run with the changes during free practice but, while Piastri reverted back to the previous specification, Norris stuck with the update. Stella said this had been designed to offer the drivers slightly more feedback at the front end.
“This situation has improved thanks to some changes that we’ve made to the car, including the front suspension here,” Stella said of Norris’ concerns over his ability to get the best of this year’s McLaren.
“Lando seemed relatively in good shape straight away. I think the Q3 case here is really a genuine one in which he’s just trying too hard.
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
“The speed is there. If we give him another set and we say, ‘Lando, just don’t overdo it’, I’m sure he’s up there and fighting for pole position. So nothing that we should be too concerned about.
“The game is extremely competitive. But at the same time, this doesn’t mean that we can always push at the limit.
“In the case of the final set, it was going to be the only valid lap, because the first set in Q3, for similar reasons, didn’t deliver the laps that we were hoping for.”
