Brundle: Norris still in title race, but must bring ‘A-game all the time’

Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle has dismissed suggestions that Lando Norris’ championship hopes are over following his collision with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The incident, which Brundle described as “very clumsy” and “unnecessary,” saw Norris sustain race-ending damage after running into the back of Piastri during a late-race battle.

Despite the setback, Brundle believes Norris can still challenge for his maiden world championship, provided he brings his “A-game pretty much all the time” and delivers consistent performances in the remaining 14 races.

The clash occurred as Norris attempted to overtake Piastri on the main straight in the closing stages at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The contact wrecked Norris’ front wing and left front suspension, forcing him to retire, while Piastri managed to finish fourth, in large part thanks to the deployment of the safety car.

The Aussie was also able to extend his championship lead over Norris to 22 points after 10 rounds.

Analyzing Norris’ Costly Mistake

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Norris took full responsibility for the crash, and Brundle agreed it was a clear misjudgement.

"Oscar did well to see the first move coming because Lando was a long way behind when he launched it into Turn 10,” Brundle said.

"Lando probably thought he got him because Oscar was at an acute angle into the final chicane and tight and wide. Oscar wasn't being particularly kind to him, but then why should he? Lando seemed to persevere down that left-hand side when it wasn't on.

"I don't think it was anything other than not recognising early enough that it wasn't going to happen, followed by wiping his front wing on his rear tyres. It was just very clumsy and sort of unnecessary.”

“Long way to go” in title race, says Brundle

Despite the frustration of a lost podium – and perhaps more – Brundle emphasized that the championship is still wide open with 14 rounds to go, though Norris can’t afford any more “scruffy” weekends.

“Lando seems to have weekends which are utterly dominant, like Melbourne and Monaco, or it just all falls apart. It was one of those weekends, sadly for him,” Brundle observed.

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“He made a mistake in his first lap in Q3, he got a lap in, and then had a scruffy final lap that puts him out of position on the grid.

"He sorts all that out and really drove well in the race, actually before the incident, as bided his time, pushed when he had to and effectively recovered himself.

"Lando won't win a World Championship unless he can stop these weekends happening. It's as simple as that.

"He's got to bring his A-game pretty much all the time, like Max [Verstappen] does. Oscar's much more solid in his delivery week in, week out, much more consistent.

"I find it really confusing that those two different levels of performance. He needs to park one and deliver the other one more often, but there's a long way to go.

"It doesn't mean he's out of the championship at all. But when you look at the turnaround in points from the advantage he came away from Melbourne with, to what he's got now, it's a 45-point swing in that time."

With a long season ahead and McLaren showing race-winning pace, Norris still has time to claw his way back – but as Brundle made clear, that journey must now begin with greater precision and fewer mistakes.

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