Remember how everyone started to question Red Bull’s pace after the last 3 races? Questions were raised about whether Max Verstappen will be able to win the championship this year. While there is still a long way to go, Max Verstappen proved at the Canadian GP why he is regarded so highly by everyone in the paddock. However, it did require a bit of luck as Verstappen celebrates his win with his engineer as Lando Norris’ luck turns into misery. But how?

The Miami GP was in Max Verstappen’s hand, but then a safety car helped Lando Norris, who pitted and came out in front of the Dutchman, and then went on to win the race. Although Lando Norris did have the pace to create a gap to Verstappen, it’s one thing to be fast but a completely different game for overtaking. Nonetheless, the 3X champ took the P2 with a bitter pill. 

Lando Norris started the Canadian GP in P3 and fell off the lead pair of Max Verstappen and George Russell in the initial laps. However, the McLaren drive shone once the track started drying up as he caught the duo rapidly and passed them effortlessly. Norris could then create an 8-second lap to Max Verstappen in P2, but just then the safety car came out. Norris had passed the pit exit line by then whereas Verstappen did not as he pitted on the same lap. 

Norris had to pit the next lap to cover off the threat and ended up losing his advantage, coming out in P3. As the safety car worked in favor of the Dutchman, his race engineer, GP, came on the radio and said, “What goes around, comes around”. Even in the post-race interviews, Max Verstappen talked about how it’s all square now that safety cars had helped Norris and the Dutchman in one race each.

Regardless, Lando Norris seemed happy with his race and was content that he put everything he had on the table. 

Lando Norris commends Max Verstappen Canadian GP drive as he swallows the unlucky Safety Car with a Bitter Pill

Lando Norris extracted as much pace from the McLaren as he could and finished just 3 seconds behind Max Verstappen. The McLarens are truly in the fight for the championship at a pace like that. Although the safety car did help Max Verstappen, Norris wasn’t too critical about the timing of its deployment and instead suggested that Verstappen and Red Bull made all the right calls and that the Dutchman drive a brilliant race.

Lando Norris said “It was chaos, and eventful. To be honest I felt I drove a good race from start to finish. I had amazing pace, the Safety Car had me over but like it helped me in Miami, it had me over. These conditions, it is so stressful inside the car but fun as well. Things were going beautifully but fair play to Max, he drove a good race. It helped me out in Miami but I am happy, we scored good points in the Constructors.”

Do you think we will see a tight fight with the permanent circuits making a comeback during the triple header up next?