‘Not sure we had that pace’ – Were Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen out of reach for McLaren?

The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, known for its challenging layout and often unpredictable weather, presented a stark contrast between Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s main event for McLaren. While Lando Norris had showcased strong form in the sprint, engaging in a battle with Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton before securing a commendable second position, the primary race painted a distinctly different and concerning picture for the papaya squad.

Starting from the second row of the grid, McLaren, with Norris and Oscar Piastri, appeared poised to once again contend with Mercedes and potentially Red Bull. However, the race day proved to be a challenging ordeal marked by strategic missteps, reliability concerns, and on-track incidents. "Here in Canada we had issues in pretty much all areas of racing, from the sporting side to reliability and an accident," admitted Andrea Stella after the race, highlighting the comprehensive nature of their struggles. "So there’s definitely lots to take away and review."

The "sporting side" primarily referred to a critical strategic decision at the start of the race. As the lights went out under mixed conditions, McLaren opted to begin on intermediate tyres, a gamble that quickly backfired. The track dried faster than anticipated, leaving both Norris and Piastri at a significant disadvantage against competitors who had chosen slick tyres or pitted early for them. This initial misjudgment forced an early, unscheduled pit stop for both drivers, dropping them down the order and severely compromising their race. The cost of this early tyre change was immense, forcing them into a recovery drive from deep in the field.

Further compounding their woes, Oscar Piastri’s race was marred by a collision with Alexander Albon. After the strategic error pushed him back, Piastri found himself battling in the congested midfield, eventually making contact with the Williams driver. The incident, deemed a "misjudgement" by Stella, resulted in a penalty for Piastri and damage to his MCL40, further hindering any chance of a points finish. Piastri’s eagerness to recover positions lost due to the initial strategy error likely contributed to the incident, as he pushed hard in challenging circumstances.

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Lando Norris, too, faced an unfortunate end to his race. Despite his earlier strong performance, a gearbox issue ultimately forced him to retire, adding reliability to McLaren’s list of concerns for the weekend. This mechanical failure meant that even if he had navigated the strategic difficulties, a finish, let alone points, would have been out of reach.

The challenging weekend also prevented McLaren from gaining a clear understanding of the performance of their latest upgrades. The Canadian Grand Prix was meant to be the proving ground for the second phase of their successful Miami package. While the team temporarily shelved a new front wing on Friday, reverting to an older specification, Stella indicated that the verdict on other updated components remained nuanced due to the chaotic nature of the race. "I think this sprint event has had two phases. Up until the race today we can say that the car seemed to be performing well," Stella explained, referring to the practice sessions and sprint qualifying. "We seemed to be within a few tenths of a second of Mercedes, still remaining the best car, but probably we have the second-best car now and this was encouraging."

However, the colder conditions on Sunday proved to be a significant hurdle, especially in getting the front tyres up to their optimal operating temperature. This issue is crucial in Formula 1, as cold front tyres lead to a lack of grip, inducing understeer and making it difficult for drivers to brake effectively and commit to corners. Both Norris and Piastri struggled with locking tyres and running wide, indicating a fundamental difficulty in extracting performance from their car in these specific conditions. "Independently of the issues with the starting tyres or the other kinds of issues, even when we were in free air, I don’t think we exhibited any competitive pace at the level that we had exhibited up until today," Stella elaborated. "I can only point this towards the lack of tyre temperature. The drivers kept locking tyres and going long in corners, and just not getting the front tyres to work at all."

Stella candidly acknowledged that the MCL40 appears more sensitive to such tyre temperature challenges than some of its rivals. This mirrors observations made by drivers in other teams, such as Gabriel Bortoleto’s remarks regarding Audi’s similar struggles in the midfield, highlighting a potential area of vulnerability for McLaren in certain weather or track conditions.

The McLaren Team Principal concluded that even without the litany of issues that plagued their Sunday, neither of their drivers would have been able to challenge the pace of Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen. Despite Verstappen himself experiencing front tyre temperature issues during his second stint, he ultimately managed these challenges more effectively, demonstrating the Red Bull car’s superior adaptability or the driver’s ability to extract performance despite limitations. "I would say that even in a normal race, in a race in which we had no issues, looking at the pace of the other cars that were contending for the podium, I’m not sure that today we would have had this pace based on the laps that we did when we had the possibility to use the full potential," Stella stated, a clear admission of a performance deficit to the very front.

For Oscar Piastri, a points finish was deemed the absolute maximum achievable following the early strategic mistake. His subsequent collision with Albon, while regrettable, was attributed to the pressure of recovering positions and a misjudgment in a challenging scenario. Stella reiterated that the stewards’ penalty was deserved and that the damage sustained further sealed McLaren’s fate for Piastri’s race.

The Canadian Grand Prix serves as a crucial learning experience for McLaren. The team will need to meticulously review their strategic decision-making process, investigate the reliability issue on Norris’s car, and most importantly, delve into the MCL40’s sensitivity to tyre temperatures. Understanding and addressing these factors will be critical for McLaren to maintain their upward trajectory in the Constructors’ Championship and consistently challenge for podiums and victories in future races, particularly as the F1 season progresses into varying climates and track characteristics. The candid self-assessment from Andrea Stella suggests a clear understanding of the challenges ahead, but the task of narrowing the gap to the likes of Red Bull and a resurgent Mercedes remains substantial.

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Jonas Leo

Jonas Leo is a passionate motorsport journalist and lifelong Formula 1 enthusiast. With a sharp eye for race strategy and driver performance, he brings readers closer to the world of Grand Prix racing through in-depth analysis, breaking news, and exclusive paddock insights. Jonas has covered everything from preseason testing to dramatic title deciders, capturing the emotion and precision that define modern F1. When he’s not tracking lap times or pit stop tactics, he enjoys exploring classic racing archives and writing about the evolution of F1 technology.

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