Lando Norris: Small mistakes will cost midfield teams

Lando Norris reckons that “small mistakes” could prove vital for McLaren and the rest of the teams in the midfield battle, as he reflects on the Canadian Grand Prix which saw him prematurely exit due to a broken suspension which led to his brakes catching fire.

The Brit was inside the top 10 in the race in Montreal, but ended up pulling off-track at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve before his car eventually went ablaze, with him thankfully walking away unscathed.

The DNF result was Norris’ second retirement of the season, but despite this, he and the performances of team-mate Carlos Sainz have combined to place McLaren as ‘best of the rest’ in the constructors’ championship behind the elite teams of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull.

However, they are just two points ahead of their nearest rivals, Renaualt, and Norris thinks errors, whether they be mechanical or human, could prove vital in determining the midfield battle.

“The teams in the midfield are really close and we’ve had some good battles over the last few races,” he said.

“We know the fight in France will be just as tough and I’ve been doing plenty of work in the factory to prepare for this weekend.

“As a team, we just have to keep giving it our all at every single race, as small mistakes can cost us.

The next race on the 2019 calendar is the French GP, and Norris is hoping to recover from his troubles in Canada to gain a good result, especially since it will be his debut on the Circuit Paul Ricard in F1.

“I’m excited to get back racing again after Canada and to experience Ricard in an F1 car for the first time,” he continued.

“I’ll be focusing on getting up to speed as quickly as I can on Friday.

“I’ve got previous experience at Ricard, having raced there in Formula Renault and F2 there.”

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