Brundle: Norris is either dominant or it all falls apart for him
F1 NewsSunday, 22 June 2025 at 12:05
Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle weighed in on the McLaren 'civil war' triggered during the Canadian Grand Prix, when Lando Norris took himself out while fighting teammate Oscar Piastri for P4, suggesting not much has changed since last year in Austria...
The McLarens coming together late in the race, was the biggest talking point of the weekend in Montreal, given its significance in the 2025 Formula 1 drivers' title race, which looks destined to be won by either Piastri or Norris. After Canada, the Australian ace is in the driving seat with a 22-point lead, which more than doubled from 10 before the race, thanks to his teammate’s DNF.
The incident began when Norris went up the inside of Piastri at the Turn 10 hairpin, with the McLaren duo going side-by-side down the back straight. Norris got a better run out of the final chicane but then ran into his teammate.
Brundle reflected: "Oscar did well to see the first move coming because Lando was a long way behind when he launched it into Turn 10: Lando probably thought he got him because Oscar was at an acute angle into the final chicane and tight and wide.
"Oscar wasn't being particularly kind to him, but then why should he? Lando seemed to persevere down that left-hand side when it wasn't on," observed the Sky f1 pundit.
Clumsy and unnecessary
"I don't think it was anything other than not recognising early enough that it wasn't going to happen, followed by wiping his front wing on his rear tyres. It was just very clumsy and sort of unnecessary," ventured Brundle.
Despite the Canada incident, team principal Andrea Stella says McLaren will not change their approach when it comes to Piastri and Norris fighting for the same position.
Brundle wrote: "I think that's driven by two racers in Zak [Brown, McLaren Racing CEO] and Andrea. Lando was being told use the DRS, use your battery, have a go at him. I admire that. I wouldn't criticise that. The rules are, which Lando broke: you race hard, you're both up for the championship, but don't run into each other and only one part of that happened.
"As they've said frequently, it was inevitable. But it wasn't an inevitable championship clash, was it? They were fighting for fourth and fifth, so there's no point in running into each other. It's not the end of the world, far from it, but it's difficult for Lando."
Brundle: Norris must iron out the inconsistency
Brundle continued: "Lando seems to have weekends which are utterly dominant, like Melbourne and Monaco, or it just all falls apart. It was one of those weekends, sadly for him. He made a mistake in his first lap in Q3, he got a lap in, and then had a scruffy final lap that puts him out of position on the grid.
"He sorts all that out and really drove well in the race, actually, before the incident. He bided his time, pushed when he had to and effectively recovered himself. Lando won't win a World Championship unless he can stop these weekends happening. It's as simple as that.
"He's got to bring his A-game pretty much all the time, like Max [Verstappen] does. Oscar's much more solid in his delivery week in, week out—much more consistent. I find it really confusing, those two different levels of performance. He needs to park one and deliver the other more often, but there's a long way to go.
"It doesn't mean he's out of the championship at all. But when you look at the turnaround in points from the advantage he came away from Melbourne with to what he's got now, it's a 45-point swing in that time," explained Brundle.
Norris looks to bounce back in Austria after last year's bad memory
It is still early days. Next up is the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, Round 11 of this world championship campaign. While Piastri is typically calm and collected, doing everything right, as Brundle mentioned, Norris has had see-sawing form. The pair continue to raise the bar every time they climb into the McLaren cockpit.
Heading to Austria for what should be a humdinger of a Grand Prix weekend, it's worth recalling how Norris also came out second best there last year. That day, in a 'rubbin' is racing' clash, he collided with Max Verstappen during an on-track 'punch-up'.
Much like in Montreal, the race at Red Bull Ring was turned on its head after Verstappen and Norris collided in the closing stages of a tense lead battle, gifting victory to George Russell.
The incident escalated after a slow pit stop on lap 52 erased Verstappen’s advantage, allowing Norris to close within two seconds. Over the next ten laps, Norris launched several attacks, culminating in an attempted pass around the outside at Turn 3 on lap 64.
Verstappen moved under braking, squeezing Norris wide, and the resulting contact damaged both cars. Norris suffered terminal damage and retired; Verstappen pitted and rejoined to finish fifth.
One year on: Same mistakes haunting Norris
Stewards found Verstappen “predominantly” to blame for the clash, issuing a 10-second time penalty and two penalty points on his super-licence. The incident drew comparisons to Verstappen’s controversial 2021 duels, reigniting debate over the limits of defensive driving.
Norris, visibly furious in post-race interviews, called Verstappen’s move “reckless” and accused him of repeated, dangerous weaving. “If he doesn’t apologise, I lose a lot of respect,” he said.
Verstappen described it as “unfortunate” and defended his actions, saying he had moved before braking and felt Norris was overly aggressive.
With the frontrunners eliminated, Mercedes’ Russell inherited the lead and cruised to his first win of the season. Piastri and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz completed the podium.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella slammed the FIA’s past leniency, arguing that Verstappen’s tactics should have been curbed earlier. Meanwhile, Norris later softened his stance, admitting frustration had influenced his reaction.
The two drivers spoke twice post-race, describing the incident as a “silly little touch,” insisting their friendship remains intact.
In retrospect, a year down the line and Norris is still suspect on the attack. He causes too many incidents and is most often his own worst enemy this season, self-inflicting wounds on his campaign. Qualifying slip-ups, compromised starts, making hard work of passing slower cars, and, as seen in Canada, too many mistakes when it matters.
Let’s see if Norris has learnt anything in the year since he last banged wheels in the hills of Spielberg. He needs some solid results before the summer break to reel in Piastri, who, after Melbourne, has hardly put a foot wrong.
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