In Montreal, Lando Norris collided with his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, who is also a championship contender, with just four laps remaining in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Norris, running in fifth place, attempted a daring overtake on Piastri on the main straight. This maneuver resulted in Norris`s car clipping the wall, severely damaging his front wing and left tire.
The incident forced Norris to retire from the race. The grand prix, ultimately won by pole-sitter George Russell, finished under a safety car period.
Immediately after the crash, Norris admitted fault over the team radio, saying, “Sorry… All my bad. All my fault. Stupid from me.”
Speaking to reporters after the event, Norris stated he felt he had “made a fool of himself” and regretted attempting the risky pass.
A dejected Norris explained, “I should never have gone for it, it`s my complete hindsight thing… I thought he was starting to drift a little bit to the right, so there was an opportunity to go the left.”
He added, “Way too much risk, especially on my teammate. Happy nothing happened to him, and I paid the price for my mistake.”
Stewards later assessed Norris a five-second time penalty for causing the collision, although he was not given any penalty points on his license.
This marked the first on-track incident between the two drivers who are currently leading the championship standings for McLaren.
Heading into the race, Piastri held a 10-point lead over Norris in the championship. Following the Canadian GP, that points difference has increased to 22.
Dominic Ashworth