By Darian Lee Crowley
Lando Norris needs an error-free weekend.
McLaren suffered their first major setback of the season in Canada. This race marked the first time McLaren failed to score a podium, experienced an inevitable teammate clash, and recorded their first DNF of the season.
While Piastri only finished fourth, he extended his championship lead. The pressure is really on his teammate.
Lando Norris is blowing his best chance of a world championship. This season he has struggled with making errors in Q3 and wheel-to-wheel racing, both of which cost him in Canada.
Norris has been open about the pressure he has felt in the big moments, and if he can’t get it resolved, his championship hopes will slip away, particularly on a sprint weekend.
Can Red Bull deliver on home territory?
Amid question marks over his future, a win for Max Verstappen at Red Bull’s home race would bring him closer to championship contention.
The team has made their home race into a fortress for others, with Max Verstappen having five poles and five wins since 2018.
Even last season, when Red Bull suffered a mid-season dip, Verstappen dominated the weekend, taking poles for both races and winning the sprint.
He was comfortably leading Sunday’s race until a slow pit stop gave Lando Norris victory hopes. After their collision, neither driver finished on the podium.
No doubt both Norris and Verstappen will hope to avenge what they saw as a lost win from last year. While Verstappen may have a great chance of taking pole, tyre wear in the race could hand it to McLaren.
Was Canada a one-off for Mercedes?
George Russell delivered Mercedes’ earliest win in a season since 2021 in Canada. Kimi Antonelli’s first podium was also clear evidence that their car was fast in Montreal.
However, the Silver Arrows have been strong in cooler races in the last year, and the track may have hit their setup sweet spot.
The team will be hoping it wasn’t just a one-off track performance and that they have made genuine improvements relative to McLaren.
Kimi Antonelli will also be looking to improve his consistency, having not put two strong weekends in a row this season.
Aston Making Progress
After a miserable start to the season, Fernando Alonso is coming on strong, having taken a ‘Class B’ victory in 8th place in Montreal.
Adrian Newey has been making minor adjustments to the 2025 car before his more radical changes for 2026.
Aston are hoping to reverse their fortunes of recent years, where the team’s progress has lagged as the season continues, albeit 2026 is the main target.
Are Williams Still Best of the Rest?
After the best start to a season in almost a decade, Williams in recent races no longer looks like the fifth fastest car.
Monaco was compromised by qualifying, and the team did manage to score points with both cars. The team only managed to score 1 point in the last two races.
They had expected to struggle in Spain, but Canada was more concerning. Both Aston and Sauber have looked quicker in those races, with Alpine and Haas in the mix.
Williams still have a great chance to get fifth in the championship, but Formula 1 is ruthless, and other teams may threaten their strong start.
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