McLaren are favourites for Canadian Grand Prix, at least until Mercedes roll out their upgrades

The reigning Formula 1 Constructors’ Champions continue their aggressive upgrade push to close the gap to Mercedes. McLaren arrived in Montreal off the back of their strongest weekend of the season in Miami, where Lando Norris won the Sprint before Piastri joined him on the Grand Prix podium behind Mercedes star and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

The Woking squad introduced a major upgrade package in Florida and have followed that with more developments in Canada, despite Circuit Gilles Villeneuve traditionally exposing weaknesses in the McLaren package.

Piastri admitted Montreal has not suited McLaren in recent seasons, while Mercedes have historically excelled around the stop start circuit: “We know we’ve got a reasonable step again here, which is nice, but it’s not been the easiest circuit for us the last couple of years and it’s been a very strong one for Mercedes.

“So it’s going to be interesting to see how we stack up obviously in very different cars this year compared to last year. I think if we can be competitive this weekend then that’s a really good sign for the rest of the year,” ventured Piastri during Thursday’s media day.

The comments come as McLaren attempt to build momentum after Antonelli’s remarkable rise at Mercedes, with the Italian teenager taking three consecutive victories and opening a 20 point lead in the Drivers’ Championship over team mate George Russell.

McLaren showed improved outright pace in Miami after introducing revised aerodynamic components to the MCL40, particularly in Sprint trim where Norris converted pole into victory.

Sprint weekends, however, leave little margin for error when introducing new parts because teams only get a single practice session before competitive running begins.

Norris admitted bringing further upgrades to Canada is not a sure bet: “It’s a risk, of course, but we have the parts. We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t think it was worth it. “It’s not like we’re thinking of it now – is it too risky – we’ve thought it for weeks already.”

The Briton also warned against overestimating the impact of the Miami package, suggesting the characteristics of the circuit may have exaggerated McLaren’s performance gains: “I think we have confidence at least that the parts in Miami all worked as expected. We gained probably a lot more lap time, but I think also the Miami track suited us."

“So I think that’s why we’re a little bit more cautious coming to another track where we want to see how Mercedes perform and also how we perform with the upgrades that we had in Miami, and that we’re going to add to the car,” Norris explained.

Mercedes arrive in Canada with their own significant update package after Antonelli’s dominant recent run and George Russell’s historic strength in Montreal, where he claimed victory last season.

McLaren’s latest additions may appear less dramatic externally, but Norris stressed that marginal gains are becoming increasingly important in a tightly packed field: “Some of them barely change anything. We’re talking tiny things here and there at times, but everything to try and push us in the right direction.

“The more the merrier and anything that can help us be a little bit quicker, especially when you’re talking about thousandths and hundredths, is a good thing," declared the reigning World Champion.

Despite McLaren’s optimism and growing momentum after Miami, the true competitive picture may only become clear once Mercedes unveil and run their long awaited upgrade package during Friday’s lone practice session.

Until then, Norris and Piastri head into Montreal as slight pre-race favourites on current form, even at a circuit that has traditionally exposed weaknesses in the McLaren package.
(Reporting by Agnes Carlier in Montreal)