McLaren has insisted the team’s updated suspension had no impact on the error-ridden qualifying that Lando Norris sustained at the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
Norris’ perpetual troubles over a single lap this season reared their head again at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as two mishaps in Q3 condemned him to seventh place.
But even with Norris not in contention, Oscar Piastri was unable to capitalise in the sister McLaren as he ended up third, two-tenths behind pole-sitter George Russell.
The McLaren duo had elected to diverge on car parts mid-weekend as Norris kept the new front suspension, while Piastri opted to revert to the previous specification.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella has divulged that the modified component – described as a small geometrical change – was available to Piastri along with his team-mate.
“So we adopted the new front suspension on Lando’s car,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week.
“The suspension itself was available to both drivers, but we were experimenting the suspension on Lando’s side because, in a way, the suspension change is aimed at passing a bit more feeling through the suspension and the steering to our drivers.
“And in this respect, I think in itself it’s such a small change that it’s difficult for drivers to isolate the effect, unless you do a back-to-back comparison, which is always very difficult to do in a race weekend.”
McLaren encouraged by initial signs
However, Stella has claimed the new suspension is working as intended, based on Norris even possessing a slight edge over Piastri in the sessions that preceded Q3.
“But from Lando’s point of view, there were no downsides,” he added. “I think, if anything, I have to say that despite the result that we had in Q3 with Lando, I think this has been, and despite the difficulties that we’ve had with the car, like I said before, pretty much right away, I think Lando has actually been competitive, especially compared to Oscar throughout the weekend, just by losing a little bit in Q3.
“So we think that the experimentation of the front suspension is a successful one, and it’s a preference, it’s a set-up option in a way that might be even different across drivers, depending on their requirements from a driving point of view.”
Indeed, the Italian declared that the change had no contribution to the mistakes, without which he reckons Norris would have been involved in the pole position battle.
“Like I said before, despite the struggle of the car, Lando was actually quite competitive throughout the weekend, and it was quite impressive that he went through Q3 just by using new tyres in Q2,” he reiterated. “So we were quite optimistic for Q3.
“I think in this case, it’s simply one of those in which Lando just tried too hard.
“I think he felt that the speed was there, but at this track, if you try too hard, then you may have quite a bit of price to pay, and that’s simply what happened.
“So I think the speed was there, even in the final attempt when he touched the wall. Until that moment, the lap was coming actually quite strong, definitely in line for pole position.
“So the speed is there, we just have to polish the fact that sometimes you sort of have to accept that you can’t always go 100%, especially when a little mistake can be so costly.”
Norris makes ‘step forward’ despite latest errors
Nevertheless, Stella is certain Norris has taken another step this weekend towards getting into a place where he can exploit the MCL39’s potential in qualifying.
“I think I can confirm that despite the outcome in Q3, there are steps forward in how comfortable Lando is in the car,” he emphasised.
“I think at the start of the season, he definitely was commenting on the fact that he didn’t have enough cueing, especially from the steering and understanding where the front grip was.
“This situation has improved thanks to some changes that were made to the car, including the front suspension here I think, because Lando seemed relatively in good shape straight away.
“I think the Q3 case here is really a genuine one in which he just tried too hard.
“The speed is there. If we give him another set and we say, ‘just don’t overdo it’, I’m sure he’s up there and fighting for pole position.
“So nothing that we should be too concerned about. The game is extremely competitive, but at the same time, this doesn’t mean that we can always push at the limit.
“In the case of the final set, it was going to be the only invalid lap, because the first set in Q3, for similar reasons, didn’t deliver the laps that we were hoping for.”
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