According to Formula 1 analyst Martin Brundle, McLaren driver Lando Norris committed a “clumsy” error when he collided with teammate Oscar Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brundle believes that despite this mistake, Norris still has a chance to win the 2025 championship if he can consistently deliver his top performance.
The incident unfolded late in Sunday`s race as the McLaren pair were competing for fourth position. Norris made contact with Piastri`s rear tire, which sent Norris` car crashing into the pit wall and immediately ended his race due to the damage sustained.
Norris, who is now 22 points behind Piastri in the championship standings, quickly issued an apology to the team for what he called his “stupid” mistake on the approach to Turn 1.
Describing the sequence of events, Brundle noted, “Oscar did well to see the first move coming because Lando was a long way behind when he launched it into Turn 10.”
Brundle continued, “Lando probably thought he got him because Oscar was at an acute angle into the final chicane and tight and wide. Oscar wasn`t being particularly kind to him, but then why should he? Lando seemed to persevere down that left-hand side when it wasn`t on.” He concluded, “I don`t think it was anything other than not recognising early enough that it wasn`t going to happen, followed by wiping his front wing on his rear tyres. It was just very clumsy and sort of unnecessary.”
McLaren leadership has acknowledged that a collision between their competitive drivers was perhaps inevitable and stated they were prepared for such a scenario.
Despite the incident in Canada, Team Principal Andrea Stella has indicated that McLaren will maintain their strategy of allowing Piastri and Norris to race each other directly for position.
Brundle commented on this approach, saying, “I think that`s driven by two racers in Zak [Brown, McLaren Racing CEO] and Andrea. Lando was being told use the DRS, use your battery, have a go at him. I admire that. I wouldn`t criticise that.”
He added, “The rules are, which Lando broke, you race hard, you`re both up for the championship, but don`t run into each other and only one part of that happened.” Brundle acknowledged the team`s view but clarified, “As they`ve said frequently, it was inevitable. But, it wasn`t an inevitable championship clash, was it? They were fighting for fourth and fifth, so there`s no point in running into each other. It`s not the end of the world, far from it, but it`s difficult for Lando.”
Brundle`s View on Norris` Championship Prospects
Norris had displayed strong pace during practice sessions compared to Piastri, who had a minor incident with the “Wall of Champions” before qualifying. However, Norris couldn`t replicate this pace when it counted, qualifying seventh, four positions behind Piastri, which Brundle suggested put him at a disadvantage early on.
Brundle observed a pattern in Norris` performance: “Lando seems to have weekends which are utterly dominant, like Melbourne and Monaco, or it just all falls apart. It was one of those weekends, sadly for him.”
He elaborated on the qualifying struggles, stating, “He made a mistake in his first lap in Q3, he got a lap in, and then had a scruffy final lap that puts him out of position on the grid.” Despite this, Brundle credited Norris` race drive before the crash: “He sorts all that out and really drove well in the race, actually before the incident. He bided his time, pushed when he had to and effectively recovered himself.”
Norris had held a 23-point lead over Piastri after the season-opening race in Melbourne, where Piastri spun in challenging conditions. Since then, Piastri has achieved eight consecutive podium finishes, including five victories, and benefited from Norris` error in Montreal to establish a 22-point advantage. Brundle believes Norris remains a strong contender for the championship but must eliminate such mistakes.
“Lando won`t win a World Championship unless he can stop these weekends happening. It`s as simple as that,” Brundle asserted. He contrasted Norris` variability with Piastri`s consistency: “He`s got to bring his A-game pretty much all the time, like Max [Verstappen] does. Oscar`s much more solid in his delivery week in, week out, much more consistent.”
Brundle concluded by highlighting the dramatic points swing: “I find it really confusing that those two different levels of performance. He needs to park one and deliver the other one more often, but there`s a long way to go. It doesn`t mean he`s out of the championship at all. But when you look at the turnaround in points from the advantage he came away from Melbourne with, to what he`s got now, it`s a 45-point swing in that time.”
Gilbert Pendleton