Gary Anderson fears Lando Norris is becoming ‘complacent’ after what he saw before Canadian Grand Prix crash

Lando Norris has put himself at a big disadvantage in the F1 drivers’ championship after crashing into his title rival Oscar Piastri during the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix.

The McLaren teammates are the favourites for the title this term, with Piastri now 22 points clear of Norris at the top of the standings after 10 rounds. Red Bull rival Max Verstappen cut Piastri’s advantage down with his P3 in the Canadian GP, yet he still remains 43 points adrift.

Norris would only be 12 points from his papaya partner had the 25-year-old not retired from a Grand Prix for the first time this season in Montreal. McLaren saw their men collide on Lap 66 of 70 as Norris rear-ended Piastri in the Canadian GP while they fought over fourth place.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are becoming ‘complacent’ after a poor qualifying at the Canadian GP

Neither McLaren driver was in the fight for the victory last Sunday, as Mercedes star George Russell won the 2025 Canadian GP from pole position. Even the podium was out of reach in Montreal as Piastri failed to overtake Andrea Kimi Antonelli to regain P3 in the Canadian GP.

Qualifying ultimately proved to be McLaren’s downfall in the Great White North, after Norris and Piastri only managed to secure P7 and P3 on the grid. And Gary Anderson thinks it even indicates they are becoming ‘complacent’, having tried to build their way into the weekend.

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Anderson has told The Telegraph: “For the first time they did not have a car on the front row and this was the first time there was no McLaren on the podium either. It was not helped by Piastri and Norris’ crash, but Russell looked nailed on for the win at that point anyway.

“Perhaps McLaren have become a tiny bit complacent, or at least their drivers have. That is not to say they are easing off because they expect to win, but it seems that both drivers tended to ease into the weekend.

“Perhaps the jump from final practice to qualifying was a bit too big this time. I think they need to start pushing harder earlier on in the weekend to make sure they are in a good position.”

Lando Norris must improve his qualifying results to fight Oscar Piastri for the 2025 F1 title

Norris will certainly need to improve his qualifying results if the Briton is to fight Piastri for the F1 drivers’ championship this season. The 25-year-old is leaving himself with too much work to overcome during the Grands Prix with poor results over a single flying lap on Saturdays.

Piastri declined McLaren’s upgraded suspension that Norris used in Canada and was able to lead their qualifying efforts after his teammate crumbled in Q3. Norris led McLaren’s efforts in FP1 (P7), FP2 (P2), FP3 (P1), Q1 (P1) and Q2 (P2) before falling to just seventh place in Q3.

Damon Hill asked Norris, ‘What are you doing?’, after blowing his qualifying in Canada, too, while the Bristol-born pilot admitted he made ‘too many mistakes’. Those mistakes would continue in the race and Norris claimed he made ‘a fool of myself’ by crashing into Piastri.

It just adds to his startling admissions after disappointing qualifying sessions in 2025. Norris called himself ‘clueless’ after qualifying P6 for the Bahrain GP and an ‘idiot’ after crashing in Q3 in Saudi Arabia. He also stated at Imola that his efforts in Q3 are, ‘Just not good enough’.