McLaren survive first big Piastri/Norris test of 2025 title battle
FINAL CORNER, CHEQUERED FLAG: Montreal presented the ideal circumstances for the worst possible scenario for McLaren
The moment McLaren knew was coming this season finally happened at the Canadian grand prix.
Teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the two clear title contenders this year and their evenly matched pace means that only the finest of margins will determine who wins and who loses. When two drivers from the same team are so close and in contention for top prizes, F1 history shows us that clashes are inevitable. CEO Zak Brown even alluded to it at the end of April — as discussed here previously.
Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. These are two iconic rivalries in the sport’s history in which teammates fought and collided with championships on the line. Norris and Piastri don’t currently have the same fiery relationship that those two pairings did, but these incidents are bound to happen on track when the pressure is on.
McLaren have deservingly been criticised over the last year for how they’ve handled their two drivers on track. Strategy errors, indecision on team orders and a lack of clarity in key moments have led to a lot of scrutiny. But they could not have asked for a better test of how to handle the two drivers in their title battle than the crash in Montreal.
The two drivers met in the closing stages of the race with Piastri ahead and chasing the Mercedes of Andrea Antonelli for the final place on the podium. But Norris was on fresher tyres and had better pace as the laps ticked down. The Englishman tried an ambitious dive down the inside into the hairpin at turn 11. While he couldn’t make the move stick, he’d done enough to upset his teammate’s momentum, and a pass into turn one or two was very much on.
But Norris misjudged the gap, and pace difference between the two cars, and ploughed into the back of Piastri, ruining his own race by ending up in the wall. Luckily for McLaren, the Australian’s car was not impacted by the incident, and he was able to bring it home in p4 behind the resulting safety car. Even better for the team, Norris quickly got on the radio to apologise, and take blame for the incident. Worst case scenario struck, but they only missed out on 10 points, so not a total disaster.
This was not Suzuka 1989 or Spain 2016, this was an incident with a clear resolution and the team can now move onto the next race in Austria without too much media fuss. Of course, there are no guarantees the next hit between the drivers will be so easy to judge, but this has been a test that the McLaren of 2024 might not have passed so comfortably.
They allowed their two drivers to race each other, and didn’t over-egg the situation with Norris once he’d owned up to being at fault. Given the constructors championship is all but sealed, McLaren can allow their two drivers to focus on their own individual ambitions for this campaign. With only 22 points between them after 10 races, it’s still anyone’s to play for.
Piastri’s points advantage is a fair reflection of how the two drivers have performed this season, with the 24-year-old keeping his errors to a minimum. Their rivalry is close, but the younger of the two has had the consistency that gives him his current edge.
What makes this particular rivalry so fascinating is also the contrast in approaches that they both take to racing. Norris has come under fire for his mental resilience this year. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and isn’t afraid to show his emotions — both the highs and lows — after each session. Meanwhile, Piastri remains ice cool under any circumstance.
Both drivers stand behind these methods of handling the pressure, and it’s only natural that Norris’ more expressive way of dealing with situations will become a major focus when he’s making frequent high-profile mistakes. However, the catharsis of letting it all out might prove an advantage as we reach the deep end of the season when the pressure really ratchets up.
The two title rivals will inevitably clash again at some point this season, and the experience of Montreal should stand McLaren in good stead. But if it doesn’t, they risk upsetting an equilibrium that has helped them romp away with the championship this year.
Prediction corner
Prediction for this week involves the driver market. I expect Max Verstappen and George Russell to both remain at their respective teams.
The more interesting market-related story revolves around Cadillac, who will join the grid in 2026. Plenty of names being thrown about, but I think they’ll go for experience and bring in BOTH Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
Quote of the week
“I ended up staying for six years, it was incredible,” said Perez. When told he was actually only at Red Bull for four, he replied: “Well, I charged them for six!”
Race Review - Canada
This was a solid race that failed to really come alive in a way it had threatened to at the end, albeit the McLaren crash did put an early end to proceedings. It’s been good to see Pirelli figure out the best way to bring the tyres to these races lately, and the 2-stop tussle made things more interesting, but ultimately it’s just too hard for these cars to race this year, which is a shame. 2/5.
Driver Power Rankings - Canada
Fernando Alonso out-qualified both Norris and Charles Leclerc in a slower Aston Martin, which paid huge dividends in the early stages of the race, bringing him a very good p7 finish.
Russell took pole and led from the front, a very solid showing in what was likely the fastest car this weekend. A first podium for Antonelli confirms this, but the Italian still did well to bring home his best result of the year so far. Verstappen didn’t put a foot wrong in the Red Bull, and it’s drives like that could keep him on the periphery of championship contention.
Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon both drove superbly to get into the points, with the Frenchman especially pulling off a daring one-stop race. Carlos Sainz recovered after being impeded in qualifying to take home a point.
Lewis Hamilton’s race was impacted by damage, and did well to bring the car home in one piece and with points to his name. Meanwhile, mistakes on Friday and Saturday cost Leclerc a more impressive result, but his Sunday drive still warrants praise.
Canada ranking: 1. Fernando Alonso. 2. George Russell. 3. Andrea Antonelli. 4. Max Verstappen. 5. Nico Hulkenberg. 6. Esteban Ocon. 7. Oscar Piastri. 8. Carlos Sainz. 9. Lewis Hamilton. 10. Charles Leclerc.
This is how my DPR Championship stands after 10 races:
Storyline to follow - Austria & Britain
In both of the next two races we should see a number of rookie drivers thrown into cars in FP1, including hot prospect Arvid Lindblad at Red Bull, as well as F2 Championship leader Alex Dunne. Both could be worth keeping an eye for the future.