Lando Norris says he will take his collision with Oscar Piastri “on the chin” and “move on” two days after he crashed out of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Norris suffered his first retirement in nearly 12 months after hitting the back of his McLaren team-mate in their fight for fourth.
The British driver’s 23-point lead over Piastri following the season-opening Australian Grand Prix has turned into a 22-point deficit ahead of next week’s F1 race in Austria.
“What happened happened and I regretted it at the time and apologised for it,” Norris told Sky Sports News in New York ahead of the premiere for the F1 Movie.
“Sadly, it’s also racing. I take it on the chin and I’ve got a move on. I’ve got to look at the next race and see how I can do a better job and not make those silly mistakes at times.
“There’s a lot of positives and I’ll make sure to look at them and build on what I’ve got because once I get into a good rhythm I’m sure I will be very happy.”
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Sky Sports’ Craig Slater joins a host of Formula 1 stars as they all take off on a special Qatar Airways plane heading to New York for the premiere of the highly anticipated F1 movie
Button: Test for Norris to come out of the other side strong
Norris immediately called his crash “stupid” on the radio and accepted blame for his first team-mate clash since joining F1 in 2019.
Team principal Andrea Stella admitted the incident “may have an impact on Norris’ confidence” but McLaren will give him their “full support”.
2009 F1 world champion and Sky Sports F1’s Jenson Button says it’s natural for mistakes in a title battle.
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Reigning F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling believes Lando Norris’ move on McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri was ‘desperate’ but he showed maturity in taking accountability right away
“I like that we have the inter-team fight because this is the fight for the World Championship. It’s nice they are going hard,” he said.
“This is a moment in time for them where they have to grab the bull by the horns because you don’t know when the next chance will come, or if it will ever come, because of the regulation change.
“They are both fighting hard for this World Championship but it happens. Lewis and myself crashed into each 14 years ago on the same straight! It happens.
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A side-by-side look at how Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s clash at the Canadian GP compares to a very similar incident between Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button at the same race in 2011
“This is the moment whether we see Lando is in a good mental place and whether he will come out of the other side strong.
“I think he has in terms of being confident in his ability and putting it all out there, so I’m excited to see him move on.”
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The McLaren team react to Lando Norris’ crash when trying to overtake teammate Oscar Piastri at the Canadian GP
Villeneuve: Norris is now the underdog
Norris came into the season as joint favourite with Max Verstappen, who is 43 points off championship leader Piastri.
Piastri’s run of eight consecutive podiums, which ended in Montreal, including five wins has made him the driver to beat but 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Norris is still the faster driver over a race distance.
“Now Norris knows what Piastri will do in the races. He won’t be surprised anymore,” he said.
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Karun Chandhok takes a closer look at Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri collision in the final stages of the Canadian GP
“He was quicker. He’s generally been quicker in the races. He just needs to figure out qualifying because that’s been up and down but he still has the edge on speed.
“He’s behind in the points, so is more the underdog and that might help him.”
Next up for the 2025 Formula 1 season is a return to Europe for the Austrian Grand Prix, which is live on Sky Sports F1 from June 27-29. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.
