Lando Norris defends McLaren’s Canadian GP intermediate gamble: ‘Valid reasons’

Lando Norris didn’t view McLaren’s decision to start the Canadian Grand Prix on intermediate tyres as inherently wrong, given his early lead, but admitted a touch more rain would have turned the gamble into a masterstroke.

Both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri were among seven drivers to start on the partial-wet tyre as light drizzle fell, only to pit for slicks within laps. Norris dropped to the back before a reliability issue ended his race, while Piastri later said they “looked like idiots” in hindsight.

Why it matters:

McLaren’s aggressive strategy call highlights the fine margins separating success from failure in F1. Norris’s defence underscores the team’s willingness to take calculated risks, but the outcome left them without points, raising questions about their decision-making under pressure.

The details:

• Norris built a two-second lead on the first lap but quickly lost it as slicks gained temperature.
• “It wasn’t stupid to be on that tyre,” Norris said. “1% more rain and it would have suited us a lot more.”
• The reigning champion noted a Safety Car could have helped: “I still could have come out on new slicks inside the top 10.”
• Piastri, who later crashed with Alex Albon, admitted the call looked bad but defended the process.
• McLaren’s pace was also compromised by low track temperatures, according to Norris.

What’s next:

McLaren heads to Monaco for its 1,000th grand prix weekend. The team will hope for cleaner execution after a chaotic Canadian round left both cars out of the points.