Lando Norris Blames 1% Mistake for Qualifying Setback

Lando Norris will start the Canadian Grand Prix from seventh after a qualifying session marked by what he described as a “1% error.” Norris, racing for McLaren, made crucial mistakes during his final qualifying runs.

On his first attempt in Q3, he missed his braking point at the final corner, which compromised his lap. Although he was able to regain some energy in the car’s battery system, his tires did not provide the optimal grip on the following lap.

During his last effort, Norris brushed the wall coming out of Turn 7. That contact ended any chance of improving his position.

He will line up four spots behind his teammate, Oscar Piastri, who now leads the drivers’ standings by 10 points with 186 to Norris’ 176. Piastri’s strong run continued a trend that has seen him outperform Norris in the key stages of qualifying this year.

This result is the latest in a series of Saturday setbacks for Norris. Earlier in the 2025 season, similar qualifying struggles occurred in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, costing him valuable points in his battle with Piastri.

Norris told reporters that these costly errors were simply a case of pushing a little too hard on a track that punishes even the smallest mistake. The layout of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve challenged both McLaren drivers, but Norris felt that the car still had enough pace to potentially reach the top three.

The Canadian track demands concentration and accuracy, with narrow margins for error across its chicanes and tight turns. Norris admitted that he tried to squeeze everything out of the car, but just stepped over the limit.

He mentioned, “We’ve clearly not been as quick as normal, and that’s just the layout of the track and the car, but we are performing relatively well, and I was happy through qualifying.”

While McLaren remains at the top of the teams’ standings with a total of 362 points, followed by Ferrari at 165 and Mercedes at 159, Norris continues to search for the consistency needed to match Piastri. The result leaves him looking for a comeback drive on Sunday, hoping to make up ground from the fourth row of the grid.

The Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is scheduled for June 15. As the F1 season continues, Norris faces rising pressure to convert his speed into cleaner results on Saturdays.

The race offers another chance to recover lost points and close the gap to his teammate as the championship battle heats up. McLaren’s performance under pressure has been closely watched, much like their strategic plays earlier this season in Monaco (McLaren Lewis Hamilton Monaco).