In Montreal, Lando Norris is of the opinion that he deserved to emerge as the victor.
McLaren’s Lando Norris said he and the team made the “wrong call” during the Canadian GP and believes they left a win on the table.
The McLaren driver initially climbed from P3 to P2, displaying potential to surpass his position multiple times during the race. However, in the end, he ultimately settled for a placement behind Max Verstappen.
Lando Norris rues McLaren’s missed opportunity
Initially appearing as if he was not experiencing the same luck he had in Miami, Norris disclosed that he had the opportunity to go into the pit before the safety car appeared. However, the team ultimately chose not to do so.
When Norris returned to the race, his eight-second lead over Verstappen had vanished, and he found himself in third place.
However, Norris reclaimed the lead until he decided to stay on the track for a few more laps while other drivers switched to slick tires. This decision ended up costing him the top position, as Verstappen managed to overtake the McLaren after exiting the pit.
Norris, who has achieved podium finishes in five out of the last seven races, is convinced that he deserved to emerge victorious in Montreal.
He expressed his frustration, stating that we should have emerged victorious in the race today. However, despite having the necessary speed, we lacked it in the dry conditions towards the end. Nevertheless, the outcome did not hold significant importance.
“It’s clear-cut – we should’ve emerged victorious today. As a team, we fell short in executing crucial maneuvers and failed to avoid getting trapped behind the safety car. This outcome wasn’t a matter of luck; it wasn’t comparable to what happened in Miami.”
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“We made a mistake with our decision, both me and the team. However, it’s something we’ll address later. Nevertheless, we should have emerged victorious today.”
However, despite feeling frustrated, Norris remained optimistic that they had moved past being content with second place and believed that their ultimate goal should always be to win.
He expressed that we have reached a point where settling for second place is no longer acceptable. Our aim is to achieve victory. Although we fell short of that goal, it is still disheartening. However, considering the challenging nature of the race, finishing in second place is still a commendable outcome.
“Opting to remain on the intermediate tires proved advantageous, granting me an opportunity to compete against George. However, I failed to maintain my performance afterwards, and he clearly demonstrated superior speed both in dry conditions and even when using the harder tires.”
“That was definitely the correct decision and a smart move for us to remain on the track. It allowed me to gain a significant amount of time, although it wasn’t at the exact moment the safety car came out. We had ample time to come into the pit, but unfortunately, we failed to do so. Therefore, this was a team error and an area where we lacked efficiency.”
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