McLaren’s awful 2022 season has continued to spiral, with team principal Andreas Seidl apologising to Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo and his teammate Lando Norris for a thoroughly disappointing Canadian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo (11th) and Norris (15th) both finished out of the points after a disastrous pit stop during a virtual safety car period, with commentator Ted Kravitz saying it ‘was not a good day for McLaren’.
It was the second race in a row Ricciardo finished ahead of Norris, with the Aussie putting in a strong qualifying performance to start at ninth on the grid and his teammate stuck well back in 14th.
Unfortunately both the car and the team let the two drivers down during the race, with Seidl telling the team’s website it was a ‘tough weekend’.
Daniel Ricciardo salutes the crowd during the drivers parade at the Canadian GP, where he beat his teammate Lando Norris for the second race running
Ricciardo finished a disappointing 11th after issues with the car and an awful error that cruelled any chance he had of climbing up the field
‘We didn’t give Lando or Daniel the package they deserved today, so we have to offer them an apology,’ Seidl said.
‘We also have to use this as an opportunity to learn, and come back stronger in two weeks for our home race at Silverstone.’
Daniel Ricciardo and Norris ended up double-parked during a horror pit stop error in Montreal
The worst part of the race for McLaren was a double-stack pit stop during the Virtual Safety Car period that completely backfired on both drivers.
Ricciardo came in first and lost a couple of seconds when the pit crew couldn’t get the front right tyre off quickly enough.
That meant Norris was delayed by almost eight seconds, destroying any chance of the Englishman winning points.
Lando Norris finished 15th in a disappointing result for the Englishman at the Canadian GP
Ricciardo lost a crucial seconds due to a poor pit stop by the crew, who couldn’t get his front right tyre off quickly enough
A poor pit stop wasn’t the only problem the team faced.
The McLaren car struggled for pace and faced a couple of mechanical issues, with a typically diplomatic Ricciardo said it ‘was not a well polished race’ for the team.
Daniel Ricciardo smiles during practice ahead of the Canadian GP in Montreal
‘We were just not really quick today, we were struggling for some pace and then we had to manage a few issues a well so not being able to push and attack put us too far out of the battle for points,’ he said after the race.
‘Simply not a very fast-paced race for us.
‘Pushing 100 per cent we could just hang on to top 10 but once we start to manage temperatures and things like this, it put us out of the fight. Would love to have had a better race but we simply just weren’t quick enough.’
Lando Norris will look to respond at his home GP in Silverstone in two weeks
Norris was also diplomatic with his responses after the race, and said the team just needed to reflect and respond accordingly.
‘We were unlucky today in many places, and also just didn’t have the pace to race and overtake the people we wanted to race against,’ he told the McLaren website.
‘I think the pace wasn’t too bad, still not good enough, but not too bad, just the fact we couldn’t overtake, hurt us badly today. We’ve got work to do.
‘There were mistakes from my side, mistakes from the team’s behalf and we’ll just need to step back, refresh, go again and do a much better job in the next one,’ said Norris.
McLaren boss Andreas Seidl apologised to both Ricciardo and Norris for a poor GP
Seidl was a little more forthright in his thoughts, and said McLaren ‘didn’t deserve points’.
‘A very disappointing Sunday afternoon for us here in Montréal. It’s been a tough weekend in general, with the car lacking pace, having reliability issues and suffering an operational issue in the double-shuffle pitstop during the Virtual Safety Car period,’ he said.
‘We have to acknowledge our competitors did a better job.’
It was an entertaining race full of twists and turns, with Max Verstappen cementing his place at the top of the Drivers Standings following his tight one-second win over Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
Sainz finished with the fastest lap, while Lewis Hamilton managed a remarkable third after struggling with intense pain during the Azerbaijan GP a week prior.
Max Verstappen celebrates winning the Canadian GP from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz
Red Bull told Verstappen over the team radio he ‘drove like a champion’ during the win, and he said after the race it was a heart-stopping finish.
‘They were quick in the race (Ferrari), it was very exciting at the end, I gave it everything I had,’ he said.
‘This year we seem quick on the straights. The safety car mean they had fresh tyres but I prefer defending than attacking.’
McLaren will look to respond at their home GP in Silverstone in two weeks time, with Ricciardo no doubt keen to improve upon his current 13th place in the drivers standings.