Lando Norris Tops Canadian GP FP3 Amid McLaren Struggles

Lando Norris expressed frustration over McLaren's struggles during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, describing Friday's practice sessions as the team's "worst Friday of the year" due to difficulties in finding a comfortable setup despite showing strong pace. Although Norris bounced back to lead the final free practice session with a fastest lap of 1m11.799s, his teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri faced setbacks, including a right rear puncture caused by contact with the 'wall of champions,' ending FP3 in eighth place. Norris acknowledged the challenge posed by Mercedes, particularly George Russell, who topped some practice sessions and showed strong pace, with Norris noting Mercedes' dominance reminiscent of last year. McLaren's Team Principal Andrea Stella described the weekend as potentially damage limitation, pointing to stability issues and mistakes that hampered qualifying performance. Former champion Nico Rosberg added concern about Norris' ability to handle the intense wheel-to-wheel battles against drivers like Max Verstappen. Despite these challenges, Norris remains optimistic about McLaren's competitiveness in race pace, signaling ongoing efforts to improve car stability and performance for upcoming races.