McLaren F1 star Lando Norris has put the blame on his shoulders over a tyre gamble that failed to pay off during Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The reigning drivers’ champion did not finish the fifth round of the F1 2026 campaign, pulling to the side of the track on lap 40 complaining of a gearbox issue over team radio.
His team-mate Oscar Piastri didn’t fare much better, coming away from the main event in Montreal without a single point.
The Aussie driver wound up down in P11 after a clash with Alex Albon which left him with a broken rear wing and a 10-second penalty for causing the collision.
But the problems began much earlier for the McLaren driver duo who now find themselves with less combined grand prix laps than struggling outfit Aston Martin.
Norris: Tyre choice was wrong, but it was my decision
McLaren stuck out like a sore thumb when lining up on the grid ahead of Sunday’s grand prix given their questionable decision to put both Norris and Piastri on intermediate tyres despite the rest of the pack mostly opting for slicks.
Even though there had been light rain on track at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday morning, it quickly began to dry heading into the 4pm start time, exposing the botched strategy in the opening minutes of the 68-lap race as both drivers came into the pits for an unplanned tyre change.
Team principal Andrea Stella insisted his squad were simply unlucky, claiming the extra formation laps that took place as a result of Arvid Lindblad’s car failing to get off the line preventing his drivers from making the most of the slightly wetter track conditions that their tyres were better suited to.
Speaking to Viaplay in Canada after Sunday’s race however, Norris took the blame for the decision, admitting that starting on intermediates was the wrong call entirely.
Asked whether the gearbox issue was something he had felt in the car during the earlier stages of the race, Norris replied: “No, no, something went boom, so something not good,” showing his ability to laugh off his misfortune.
When the interviewer pointed out that the reigning champion had gotten off to a strong start after going from third on the grid to the race lead as he headed into Turn 1, Norris added: “That was the best bit.”
When he turned his attention to the tyre strategy however, Norris said: “Not the right move. It happens you know?
“If there was a little bit more rain I think it would’ve served us perfectly, it wasn’t.
“It was kind of my decision, it was the wrong decision in the end, that’s a hindsight thing but that’s the way it goes sometimes. It could easily win you a race and obviously today it could lose us a race but either way I’m almost happier that I was at the back and the car went boom than if I was at the front and the car went boom. So, it’s the way it is but yeah, that’s life.”
