Norris Encouraged by McLaren Pace Despite Mercedes Front-Row Lockout

Lando Norris secured third place on the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix, a result he found encouraging given McLaren's proximity to the front-row locking Mercedes. Despite not fully exploiting their latest upgrade package, Norris felt the team was closer than anticipated.

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I was pretty happy, actually. My lap, the 12.7, I was reasonably happy with. I thought there was a little bit more in it, which I tried to get out on my second lap, but didn't really seem to be able to extract.

"I was pretty happy, actually," Norris stated. "My lap, the 12.7, I was reasonably happy with. I thought there was a little bit more in it, which I tried to get out on my second lap, but didn't really seem to be able to extract." He added that being so close to Mercedes was a positive sign, especially since they had not yet maximized the potential of their new upgrades. "The fact that we're not using some of our upgrades, I think we're very surprised to be this close," he said. "There are a lot of positives... there are still good things to come once we figure them out."

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The fact that we're not using some of our upgrades, I think we're very surprised to be this close.

Team principal Andrea Stella echoed Norris's sentiment, describing "encouraging indications" that McLaren is learning more about their upgrades. He explained that work done between the Sprint and qualifying sessions, focusing on car setup and tire exploitation, allowed them to improve performance. "In my view, you have to look at things more holistically, over a period of time and in different conditions," Stella advised.

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There are a lot of positives... there are still good things to come once we figure them out.

Looking ahead to Sunday's race, Stella acknowledged the possibility of rain. While rain can introduce uncertainty, particularly concerning power unit behavior, he suggested it could potentially work in McLaren's favor. "There is a little advantage then," he added, implying that teams with more experience in variable conditions might benefit.

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Between the Sprint sessions and qualifying, we did some work to optimize the car from a set-up point of view and a tire exploitation point of view, so this allowed us to make the car quicker.