Norris unpacks McLaren’s Canada revival after confidence scare

The reigning world champion, who could only record a lap time quick enough for third place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, noted how particularly impressed he was with the result. Norris labelled it a good surprise, highlighting how the McLaren team had struggled to find its rhythm through much of its early running, before making some changes and modifications to the car, which translated into improved performance.

“No, a very good result actually. No, a good surprise. I think after this morning, we were a little bit worried, let’s say, about how far off we were and more just the lack of confidence in the car. But we made some tweaks, we went, yeah, we changed some things and seemed to make a good improvement,” Norris said to the media after Canadian GP Sprint Qualifying.

The 26-year-old continued by doubling down on how pleased he was with the third-place start he achieved ahead of the Sprint race, before noting how he felt there was still more time left on the table from his final lap. However, he was encouraged by how close the field was.

“So I’m happy with third. I mean, it wasn’t the best lap. I could have got more out of it. But then, when I saw the gap to the guys ahead, not that much, you know, so a positive turnaround. And I’m proud of the team that we managed to do such a good job,” he added.

Norris clocked a best lap of 1:13.280 during his Q3 run at the Canadian GP Sprint Qualifying, a time just a few hundredths better than that recorded by teammate Oscar Piastri, but three tenths off the benchmark time set by George Russell, who claimed pole position for the event.

Norris also took time to discuss the updates the McLaren team introduced for the Quebec event. The British driver admitted the upgrades felt decent, while noting that the team needs to understand a few components which have so far proven questionable, particularly due to the nature of the circuit.

“I think it certainly felt decent. Some things are maybe a bit more questionable, and we probably need more time to review things and look back, especially because it’s such a weird track. It’s so low grip, you’re kind of bouncing off kerbs and stuff, so you’re not getting a true representation of everything. It’s hard to back it up with what we have in the wind tunnel and things like that, so we need a bit more time with some bits, and I will probably reintroduce some of them next weekend or in Barcelona,” he added.

Norris, however, concluded by noting how the other components of the MCL40 remain working well, while highlighting his confidence in the car, particularly during the final stages of qualifying.

“But at the same time, the rest of the car, now I think, was clearly working well, and I felt confident in Q3, especially on the soft, which is probably the first time this weekend that I felt that confidence. So now a good step forward and we’ll see what we can improve going into tomorrow,” he concluded.

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has proven to be a tricky venue for Norris in recent years. While he finished on the podium behind Max Verstappen at the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix, his 2025 visit proved to be more difficult, as he crashed behind teammate Oscar Piastri during the final stages of the Grand Prix.