Montreal is time for McLaren to seriously fire up their campaign to end Mercedes Formula 1 dominance

After Kimi Antonelli and George Russell established Mercedes as the benchmark team across the opening races, Miami may have delivered the first real sign the balance of power is beginning to shift.

McLaren’s major upgrade package transformed the MCL40 into arguably the fastest car on race pace, with Lando Norris winning the Sprint before chasing Antonelli all the way to the flag on Sunday.

Johnny Herbert believes that performance changed the complexion of the title fight: “What we saw in Miami was that McLaren probably had the faster car. But it didn't quite pan out as a race winning performance.

“But the performance itself, especially with Lando winning the sprint race and pushing Kimi all the way to the end in the main race, showed they definitely have a car to be reckoned with.

“So the direction of the upgrade that they had in Miami put them in a position where they were the fastest car in the race," reckoned the former Formula 1 driver turned pundit.

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Now Formula 1 heads to Montreal for another Sprint weekend, with the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve presenting a completely different challenge under the new 2026 regulations.

Long straights, heavy braking zones and complex energy deployment demands are expected to expose both strengths and weaknesses across the grid. For Herbert, this is the moment McLaren must fully ignite their championship challenge.

McLaren have traditionally been strong in Canada and Herbert sees the circuit as an ideal opportunity to attack Mercedes’ dominance: “They've got to be able to capitalise on that when they go to Canada. It's a totally different type of circuit with a lot of long straights, hard braking. McLaren have been historically very good there, so that may be a good sign for them.”

Just as importantly, Herbert believes Norris himself has elevated his level alongside the team’s technical gains. After losing momentum late in last year’s championship battle, Norris now looks sharper, calmer and more complete behind the wheel.

“It seems like Lando has made that jump in performance to match the car’s improvement,” Herbert said. “Drivers sometimes aren't able to follow that upgrade. But he's raised his game. Lando definitely is in a better position. Oscar drove a great race as well, but he wasn't quite as quick as Lando.”

That combination of car performance and driver confidence could suddenly turn Norris into Antonelli’s biggest title rival. Herbert predicted: “Lando could be a big big threat to Kimi because if he starts taking points off of Kimi that only helps George."

With Mercedes currently relying on Antonelli’s explosive form and Russell’s consistency, McLaren taking victories away from the Silver Arrows could dramatically tighten the championship picture.

Inside McLaren, Norris’ resurgence is also beginning to heap pressure back onto Oscar Piastri. Herbert believes the Australian now faces a familiar challenge after Norris finished last season strongly and carried that momentum into 2026.

“With Oscar there's always going to be that frustration when you're being beaten by your teammate,” Herbert explained. “We don't see him showing his emotion very often. He is able to dig deep.

"It went a bit pear-shaped last year. He will learn from that. He won't allow that to happen again. He’s learned the how and why it didn't quite come together last season," added Herbert, referencing how Piastri dominated early last year, but 'fell off a cliff' when it mattered.

Despite Norris’ advantage in Miami, Herbert insisted the gap between the two McLaren drivers remains narrow: “He's not far off of Lando so that means he hasn't got that much work to do before he gets in front of him.

“But again, Lando just seems to have the ability to get the very best out of the car without making any silly mistakes. That's going to be the strength that Lando is going to be taking forward.”

Herbert also believes Norris is now benefiting massively from the lessons learned during last year’s title battle: “Oscar, a bit like George, is going to get his heels dug in and work out the why and how. And because it's not going to be simple.

"Lando can definitely push the boundaries further than he has ever done before, just because of the experience that he had last year. He was able to overhaul Oscar, put him under pressure and then eventually get that championship done," Herbert recalled.

Heading to Canada, McLaren are P3 in the 2026 F1 Constructors' standings topped by Mercedes who have scored nearly double the points the Woking outfit has amassed so far this season. Norris is P4 in the standings and Piastri P6.