Also the Canadian GP, the ninth round of the 2024 World Championship, has been archived. Event characterized since Friday by adverse weather conditions. The race starts in the rain. McLaren, like its direct rivals, uses intermediate tyres, but during the first ten laps, Russell and Verstappen seem to have another pace and leave them behind.
From the moment the track line begins to dry, the MCL38 becomes the fastest car on the track and Lando Norris' comeback begins. In a few laps he reaches the first two and overtakes them. At that stage it seems made for team of Woking, but Logan Sargeant's accident leads to the exit of the Safety Car.
Incredibly, McLaren does not stop Norris in the pits: in theory, having a six-second margin from the second, he could have made the stop and maintained his position, but the Papaya team's strategists prefer to keep him outside. Instead, Verstappen, Russell and Piastri return to the pits. Norris, therefore, tried to push as much as possible but only the first two corners were on intermediate tires unlike the rest of the track which was completely dry.
The Englishman from McLaren then returns to the pits to fit dry tyres. On this occasion he loses his position over Verstappen and Russell. After the return of the Safety Car, Norris' McLaren never started again. It just passes Russell's Mercedes, but Verstappen is unattainable. The Dutch wins again and takes victory number 60 in F1.
Lando Norris will finish in P2. It almost seems as if victory eluded him given that at times the McLaren was the fastest car on the track. Perhaps they should have called him back from the wall earlier so as not to make him lose his position. For Oscar Piastri only P5. In any case, the team of Woking took advantage of Ferrari's double zero to recover ground in the constructors' standings.
Canadian GP 2024, McLaren: Norris' statements
Lando Norris: “It was an eventful race today! To be honest, I feel like I had a good race from the start to the end. The conditions inside the cockpit were stressful, but at the same time pleasant. In the first two stints we were competitive, we were unlucky with the Safety Car. Congratulations to Max Verstappen for having had an error-free race."
![McLaren Canada race](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/IMG_0878-jpg.webp)
“I'm happy for second place. It was fun on the track and we scored a lot of points for the team. The car was competitive all weekend, I thank McLaren. It's nice to be so close again. Let's continue like this to reach the top step."
Canadian GP 2024, McLaren: Piastri's statements
Oscar Piastri: “Fifth position is obviously not the result we were aiming for, but we achieved a good haul of points for the team and made progress in the constructors' classification. The pace that Mercedes had on new tires in the last stint was better than expected."
“The race had the potential to get chaotic, so I think we can be happy with what we did. Now we need to focus on the three races in a row in Europe. I can't wait to see what we can do."
GP Canada 2024, McLaren: speaks team principal Andrea Stella
“As expected, we had a fun Canadian GP. The competition was tight. With the variable weather, many drivers were favored to win at different points in the race, and it is important that Lando was among them."
“This is what we learned in Montreal: McLaren is competitive, capable of reaching the podium and competing for victory in different conditions. Unfortunately, the timing of the Safety Car was unlucky for Lando because he was the fastest on the track at that moment. Oscar was good too. It's great to see him fighting for the podium in only his second season in F1."
“Our focus now is on improving the car in such a way as to always be competitive. We take home a nice haul of points. I thank the team for the great work done this weekend too. Now head to Spain“.
Crediti foto: McLaren