McLaren vow to 'polish' Lando Norris after latest error

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has stated the squad must “polish” Lando Norris to eliminate key errors from qualifying efforts.

Norris is set to start Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix from seventh on the grid - his lowest position of the year bar the race in Saudi Arabia.

The 25-year-old highlighted a handful of mistakes he made on his final Q3 lap which left him down the order, while team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri claimed third.

Stella stated Norris' approach through the opening two qualifying sessions left him in a strong position for the top 10 shootout. 

“Despite the struggles of the car, Lando was actually quite competitive throughout the weekend,” Stella told media including RacingNews365.

“It was quite impressive that he went through to Q3 just by using used tyres in Q2, so we were quite optimistic for Q3.”

Stella admitted Norris was guilty of overdriving the car as he sought to improve his lap time.

It is a trait that has been seen before in Norris, including at the Spanish Grand Prix last month when he missed out on pole position to Piastri.

Stella highlighted Norris' lap was projecting to be in the fight for pole position before he touched the wall.

“In this case, it's simply one of those in which Lando just tried too hard,” Stella added. 

“He felt that the speed was there but at this track, if you try too hard, then you may have quite a bit of price to pay and that's simply what happened. 

“The speed was there, even in the final attempt, when he touched the wall, until that moment, the lap was coming actually quite strong.

“It was definitely in line for pole position, so the speed is there. 

“We just have to polish the fact that sometimes you have to accept that you can't always only go 100 per cent - especially when a little mistake can be so costly.”