McLaren star Oscar Piastri decodes what went wrong with him and Lando Norris in the Canadian Grand Prix

McLaren was barely a match for the front-row drivers at the Canadian GP. While the Papayas are a force to reckon with and have been the best team so far, their performance in Montreal was barely a match for their overall performance in 2025.

The MCL39s struggled right from Friday during the Free Practice sessions, and on Saturday, they could not extract much in qualifying. Piastri, who claimed four pole positions in nine previous races, qualified in P3. Norris, who also has two poles under his belt, qualified in P7 due to an error in the final flying lap.

Their performance did not improve in the race as Piastri finished the race in P4, whereas Norris had a DNF after colliding with his teammate. The McLaren cars are incredibly fast in terms of race pace, thanks to superior tire management, but on Sunday, none of it was visible.

Decoding the reason behind their underwhelming performances, Oscar Piastri shared his thoughts. Speaking to the media about the Canadian GP, here's what the Australian driver said:

"Our pace wasn't great in the first stint on the medium tyres. I think where we came into our own was when everyone else was degrading, we were good. And unfortunately, we probably needed the race to be about 100 laps, not 70, to take advantage of that.

"We were quick at points. I think at other points we didn't have enough, and I think the whole race we didn't really have enough of an advantage to make track overtakes. So, a bit frustrating."

Despite their underwhelming performance in Canada, the Papayas barely lost ground in the Constructors' Championship. They are leading the title battle with 374 points after 10 races and two Sprints. Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull are in distant P2, P3, and P4, with 199, 183, and 162 points, respectively.

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McLaren boss on Canadian GP collision: "Not acceptable"

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella delivered a stern warning to his drivers after the 2025 Canadian GP collision between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Speaking about it, here's what Stella said:

Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren walks away after a crash during the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve - Source: Getty

"Well, we never want to see a McLaren car involved in an accident, and definitely we don't want to see the two McLarens having contact, so this situation is a situation that we know is not acceptable." (via F1.com)

During Lap 67 of 70, Norris wanted to move past Piastri for P4. However, the Australian driver shut the door, and as a result, Norris made contact with Piastri's car, rebounded off the wall, and suffered the DNF.