Lando Norris Should Blame McLaren Strategists, Not His Luck for Losing the Canadian GP

Lando Norris will see the 2024 Canadian GP as a missed opportunity for another race win. He certainly had the pace, but luck wasn’t on his side that afternoon in Montreal. Bernie Collins, however, doesn’t want to blame luck. Instead, she calls out the McLaren strategists.

On lap 25, Williams’ Logan Sargeant crashed his car which brought out the Safety Car. At that time, if the Briton had pitted for newer tires, the race could have turned out to be very different for him. “Norris was 3.5 seconds from the SC Line 1 when the Safety Car was deployed,” said Collins as per Formula 1’s official website.

GREAT DRIVE, LANDO!

He pushed all the way to take P2 in Montreal!#CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/r2a3g4JL1Y

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 9, 2024

Because Norris stayed out, he lost position to Verstappen. He pitted a lap later, by which time, both the Red Bull driver and George Russell passed him. By the end of lap 70 (the last lap of the race), Norris could only muster one position, as he stood on the second step of the podium.

Collins pointed out that Norris had a discussion with his team members regarding the pit stop. The former Aston Martin strategist added,

“Had Norris been told to box for intermediates if a Safety Car was deployed, then the 3.5 seconds between the Safety Car deployment and reaching the SC Line 1 would have been sufficient to make it into the pit lane.”

The website also states that had McLaren pitted him, he would have had the lead on lap 30. This would have put him in a great position to win the race. But, even though he didn’t win, the #4 driver held on to a record that no one else has in the 2024 campaign.

Lando Norris’ incredible consistency in 2024

Norris is now the only driver in the 2024 grid to have scored points in every single race. Even Max Verstappen, who scored points in every race since Australia 2022, had to retire in this year’s outing in Melbourne due to an engine failure.

 

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Charles Leclerc was the only other driver along with Norris to have scored points in every round until Canada. In Montreal, however, Leclerc was forced to retire (as was his teammate Sainz).

Norris’ consistency is also a testament to McLaren’s growth. From being one of the slowest teams at the start of 2023 to being one of the best, heading into the mid-point of 2024, it has been quite the journey for the Woking-based outfit.