Oscar Piastri ‘surprised’ Marc Surer and not in a good way during the Canadian Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri benefited from his McLaren teammate Lando Norris crashing out of the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix to open a 22-point lead atop the F1 drivers’ championship.

The papaya pals travelled to Montreal for round 10 of the 24 set to be staged in the 2025 F1 season just 10 points apart in the standings. Yet Piastri improved his lead after Norris retired from the Canadian GP on Sunday after rear-ending the Australian at the end of Lap 66 of 70.

It looked like Norris would be the top McLaren driver across practice and qualifying until the Briton blew his advantage over Piastri in Q3. Norris only qualified in P7 for the Canadian GP, as Piastri achieved P3 on the grid, yet different strategies brought them together in the race.

Piastri also faded into fourth place on the first lap as Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli used the outside line to slingshot his way around the Melbourne native for the inside line at T2. The 18-year-old eventually got ahead at Turn 3 and stayed in front through to the finish.

Marc Surer was ‘surprised’ Oscar Piastri failed to overtake Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Canada

Antonelli secured his first F1 podium with P3 in Canada last Sunday, as the Italian wonderkid held off Piastri’s threat throughout the race. The Mercedes product was never able to break clear of the McLaren man, who hung onto his tail after the final round of pit stops on Lap 46.

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Traffic from backmarkers even added yet more pressure on Antonelli, as he and Piastri made their way through the rear of the field. But the Bologna boy kept his calm and eventually got free once Norris caught Piastri, prior to the McLaren teammates coming together on Lap 66.

The fact that Piastri was never able to even get within striking distance of Antonelli after the Melbourne native lost P3 also ‘surprised’ Marc Surer. They were often two-to-three seconds apart before the first and second round of pit stops, and only traffic brought them together.

Surer has simply told Motorsport-Total: “I was surprised that he couldn’t attack Antonelli.”

Oscar Piastri felt he needed another 30 laps to overtake Kimi Antonelli in the Canadian GP

Antonelli drove a faultless race to ensure Piastri never got close enough to even attempt an overtake for third place in the Canadian GP. The Mercedes gem is now the first Italian driver in 16 years to score a Grand Prix podium since Jarno Trulli at the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix.

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Piastri, meanwhile, admitted after the race that McLaren struggled for pace on the medium compound C5 Pirelli tyres and also on the hard C4 tyres during his second stint. He then did not have enough time in the final stint to take advantage as Antonelli’s tyres started to fade.

“Yeah, our pace wasn’t great in the first stint on the mediums,” he said, via Auto Action. “I think where we came into our own was when everyone else was degrading, we were good.

“Unfortunately, we probably needed the race to be about 100 laps, not 70, to take advantage of that. So, I think we were quick at points.

“I think at other points, we didn’t have enough. And I think the whole race we didn’t really have enough of an advantage to make track sometimes. So, a bit frustrating.”