Telemetry exposes costly Lando Norris error in Canadian GP qualifying

Lando Norris endured yet another disappointing qualifying session heading into the Canadian Grand Prix, ending Q3 in Montreal down in seventh place – over seven-tenths off pole position – in what many consider the fastest car on the grid.

With the help of telemetry data, we break down where and why Norris lacked pace in Canada.

Lando Norris continues to struggle in qualifying

Inconsistency in qualifying has plagued Lando Norris  throughout the 2025 season. There have been ups and downs, but the general trend is clear: Norris has underperformed compared to his teammate in this area.

Let’s not forget Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, where mistakes put him on the back foot before the race even began. After a sensational pole and one of the laps of the year in Monaco, many believed those errors were behind him. But here we are in Montreal, and once again, the story repeats – though this time without any major incident.

When an Aston Martin car is ahead of you, and you’re in the best car on the grid, it’s a clear sign that something isn’t working properly.

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And yet, nothing in free practices suggested such an outcome. Norris topped the timesheets in FP3 and was second quickest in FP2, just fractions off the pace.

His teammate had been consistently slower throughout the sessions, and all signs pointed to Norris being the one to beat in qualifying. In fact, he was quicker than Oscar Piastri in both Q1 and Q2.

Then his first flying lap in Q3 went wrong. A mistake in the final chicane forced him to abort and try again. He managed a decent time on his next run, but it simply still wasn’t enough.

Canada is one of those circuits with very high track evolution, meaning the final laps are usually the fastest. Unfortunately for Norris, he was one of the few drivers who didn’t improve in his second Q3 attempt, telling media that he hit the wall.

Afterwards, he admitted to being overly aggressive and making too many small errors – and the data backs that up.

Looking at his ideal lap time, it’s clear Norris had the pace to do better. He was faster than both Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso over different parts of the lap, but he failed to put it all together in one clean run.

When comparing his fastest lap to Piastri’s, the advantage steadily shifts in the Australian’s favour throughout. Norris didn’t make any massive mistakes… but he never quite extracted the full performance from the car, either.

Already on the exit of Turn 2, we can see more stability from Piastri’s car, which helps him gain a tenth straight away. The pattern continues through the next few chicanes.

Into Turns 3 and 6, both drivers brake at the same point, but Piastri is earlier and more confident on the throttle, while Norris is forced to make small corrections just to keep the car planted. A similar story plays out in the Turn 8–9 sequence.

Even though they’re driving identical machinery, the graphs show that Piastri consistently achieves higher exit speeds thanks to cleaner acceleration and less rear instability – particularly crucial on a circuit like Montreal.

In the final chicane, Norris makes another small error, and by the end of the lap the gap is nearly half a second – which is massive for a track like this.

Why was Lando Norris so far off the pace?

So, what happened with Norris?

While it’s impossible to say for sure, all signs point to the driver side of the equation. The car setup appeared strong, which was evident throughout the weekend. Right up until Q3, everything pointed to Lando Norris being the main contender for pole.

His own admission suggests the likely cause: over-aggression. In pushing too hard, he ended up overdriving – a sign of pressure getting to him.

Team radio during the session also offered a telling glimpse. We heard his race engineer Will Joseph trying to calm him down and remind him to focus on braking references – the kind of coaching rarely heard at this level in Formula 1.

In the context of a fierce championship battle, the pressure on Norris is enormous, and at the moment, it doesn’t look like he’s handling it particularly well.

That said, his performance in Monaco showed that he can deliver under pressure – so we’ll see how the McLaren driver bounces back after this frustrating result.

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