Lando Norris Slams McLaren Strategy: ‘We Should Have Won’ After Safety Car Blunder in Canada

“We deserved the win” – Lando Norris criticizes McLaren for incorrect Safety Car decision

Lando Norris claims McLaren made an error in their strategy during an early Safety Car phase in the Canadian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris believed that McLaren lost a chance to secure a win at the Canadian Grand Prix in Formula 1.

Beginning in the third position, Norris was a strong contender for victory in Montreal. During Sunday’s chaotic and rainy race, he managed to take the lead twice after passing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.

Norris fell behind during the first Safety Car period because he delayed his switch from intermediate tyres to slicks by one lap after his competitors, as the track conditions began to improve.

When he made his pit stop, the British driver returned to the race in third place, trailing behind Verstappen and Russell. Later, Russell made another pit stop during a second Safety Car period, allowing Norris to move up to second position, which is where he ultimately finished.

Norris expressed frustration after the race, stating, "We should have come out on top today, plain and simple. Our team didn't perform well enough, failing to pit at the right moments and getting trapped behind the safety car."

"I believe it wasn't about luck or the lack of it. Unlike the situation in Miami, this was simply a bad decision. Therefore, the responsibility falls on both me and the team, and we will address it later."

The expectation was to secure a victory today, and given our current performance level, settling for second place is no longer acceptable. Our aim was to win, and falling short of that goal is very disappointing. Despite the tough race, finishing in second place is still a positive outcome, considering it could have been worse.

Norris, who took advantage of the Safety Car's timing to defeat Verstappen in Miami, emphasized that McLaren had made an error instead of just being unfortunate.

"Using the intermediate tires allowed me to compete with George," Norris explained.

"I managed to overtake him, but after that, I didn't perform well enough, and he was much faster than us on the dry track and with hard tires. So, it was absolutely the correct choice and a smart move for us to remain on the track – it saved me a significant amount of lap time."

"The issue wasn't the timing of the safety car; we had ample opportunity to pit, but we chose not to. This was a mistake on our part as a team, and we failed to execute properly."

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