Lando Norris took advantage of an intense intra-team battle between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli to secure P2 in the Sprint at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, revealing that he was “pretty worried” about having to then defend from the Italian driver.
After proving McLaren’s potential by winning the Miami Sprint last time out, Norris reaffirmed the success of their upgrades by claiming third place in Sprint Qualifying in Canada, lining up just ahead of team mate Oscar Piastri.
The pair were unable to edge past Mercedes at lights out as the leaders refined their approach to the opening lap, and Russell was able to open up a slim advantage of a few seconds over Norris.However, as Antonelli launched a fierce attack for P1, Norris closed in and was able to swoop past the 19-year-old when he ran wide, leaving the top three drivers separated by tiny margins for the remaining laps.
“It was a good race,” the McLaren driver said afterwards. “It was good just to watch them [the Mercedes pair] go at it for a little while but of course we were there to pick up the pieces when things happened, and they were quick.
“Kimi caught me back up pretty quickly and then I was pretty worried from behind but also I wanted to try and attack George ahead. Overall, it was fun. It’s always a tough track to try and push on and easy to make mistakes but today was a good result for us.”While Norris was unable to gain another position and repeat his Miami achievement, his team mate found a way past Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton to reclaim P4 having initially lost the place on the first lap.
Piastri ended the Sprint pleased with McLaren’s performance despite missing out on the podium, leaving him determined to pursue a stronger result in Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.
The Australian said: “I think the pace is pretty good, it’s just I was stuck most of the race. I think the wind changed from yesterday – the balance was quite different so it wasn’t quite the car I expected to have.
“We’ll try and see what we need more for this afternoon and tomorrow, but I think the pace was encouraging so if we can have a better Qualifying, we can be in the mix.”
