Lando Norris is convinced that McLaren’s “split-second” defeat in the Canadian Grand Prix shows the side is now missing “small things” to beat Red Bull in Formula 1.
Norris capitalised on McLaren’s recent developments in Miami to earn his maiden F1 win and then pursued Max Verstappen’s Red Bull to the chequered flag at Imola.
The Briton was then in a position to triumph in Montreal as he built up a seven-second lead in mixed conditions, but a rueful pit call saw him relinquish the race lead.
Although he has admitted that McLaren slipped up, Norris has defended the team with the view that the choice to pit under the Safety Car looked simpler in hindsight.
“It’s not a huge amount,” he said regarding McLaren’s gap to Red Bull in race execution. “It’s small things, it’s just split seconds of decision-making and understanding.
“Montreal was a fairly, although it’s quite simple, it was also a fairly difficult decision with what the weather was doing and changing.
“So, it wasn’t as simple as just saying at the time we’ve easily made the wrong decision.
“There were things we definitely could have done better and could have done better and we should have boxed, all of those things.
“It’s not just as easy as saying that, though, because there are other factors which led us to want to stay out and not necessarily box at the time.
“Like the weather, initially expected to be very bad coming in and actually got less and less and less rain, so if there was that little bit less, we could have stayed out like some drivers did and actually turned out to be still a good thing to do.
“So again, it wasn’t like we made the wrong decision, it was just the positioning we were in, certain other variables made it look worse against some of these other guys.
“But the fact I had like two seconds and the team had two seconds to decide at the time whether it was going to rain or not enough to stay out, it’s a complicated decision.”
Norris claimed the reaction to McLaren squandering a potential victore was overblown, citing how there are several areas the team is excelling compared to its rivals.
“I really don’t think it’s a lot and I think there’s a lot of stuff we do better than other teams, better than Red Bull, better than Mercedes, better than other teams,” he said.
“It’s just certain times and certain situations, some are going to show our weaknesses and things that we should have done better.
“But at the same time, I think other teams have made mistakes and we’ve done a better job than other teams in certain areas too.”
However, Norris has conceded McLaren must adapt to the more intense surroundings at the sharp end and be sharper as a collective operation to overcome Red Bull.
“Your mentality, even when you try to not make it or allow it, your mentality is always going to change, you’re always going to feel a little bit more pressure, a bit more nerves.
“So, it’s more us having to step it up a little bit more than anything else. But again it’s small things here and there and it’s just piecing it all together a little bit more.
“But I think that’s coming, it comes with a bit of time and experience of just being back at the front and having to make these calls in quicker time.
“When we were fighting for eighth place and even Max’s case he had 15 seconds, 20 seconds to decide, do I box, do I not box, what’s Lando doing, that kind of thing.”
Norris disclosed that McLaren had completed a thorough review into the processes used in Canada, but he repeated that comprehensive alterations are not essential.
“It’s a little bit from their side, a little bit from my side in provoking or giving more feedback, those kind of things,” he explained.
“But again it’s not big changes, it’s not like you have to change anything drastically, it’s just one more question or it’s just one more little decision that we’ve got to put.
“It’s very small things but just have very big consequences like we saw.
“Really I’m happy with everyone, I’m happy with the team and their work ethic and how they’re trying to improve on all these areas.
“I’m confident we’ll just go and do another weekend and we’ll make better decisions, simple as that.”
