F1 teams react to McLaren’s choice that even Oscar Piastri wondered about at the Canadian GP
Kimi Antonelli has extended his lead at the top of the Formula 1 drivers’ championship by winning his fourth race in a row at Sunday’s Canadian GP. The young Italian crossed the finish line first at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton coming in second and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third. He wasn’t challenged by McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
So far this season, Mercedes has won every Grand Prix, while McLaren’s best finish was at the Miami GP, where Norris came second and Piastri third. But in Canada, both McLaren drivers struggled. Piastri finished 11th, and Norris had to retire due to a gearbox problem.
Interestingly, Norris briefly led from P3 after the first corner, despite a tyre choice that didn’t help him or his teammate. Both McLarens started the race on intermediate tyres, hoping to benefit from forecasted rain in Quebec. However, they switched to slick tyres within the first two laps and ended up falling to the back.
McLaren’s bold tyre choice surprised many. Former driver and Sky Sports analyst Karan Chandhok said he met several drivers and engineers who all wondered, “What were McLaren thinking?” No top teams believed starting on intermediates was a good idea.
Piastri admitted the strategy backfired and made McLaren “look like idiots,” but he explained it was a group decision. He said, “Right before the race, the track got much wetter, and since reaching the grid was tricky, we thought the intermediates would be faster if we could warm them up. Unfortunately, the rain stopped, and it didn’t work out. We believed it was the safer, right choice, but it wasn’t.”
If you’re a Sky TV customer, there’s a great offer right now— you can add the Sky Sports F1 channel for just £15 a month on a flexible 31-day deal. With races coming quickly, the excitement continues as F1 heads back to Europe. Next up is the Monaco GP on June 7, followed by the Barcelona and Austrian GPs later that month. Then it’s Silverstone for the British GP on July 5, before racing in Belgium and Hungary.
Watching Sky Sports F1 means you don’t miss a thing—it’s the only place to see every practice and qualifying session live. Plus, you get exclusive behind-the-scenes access, interviews, and expert analysis during race weekends and in shows like The Notebook with Ted Kravitz and The F1 Show.
And the best part? If you’re a Sky Sports customer, you can stream live F1 action on your phone or tablet through the Sky Sports app, so you can watch wherever you are.