McLaren Accused of Ruining Its Own Canadian GP With Risky Call

McLaren has come under heavy criticism after its strategic gamble at the start of the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix was blamed for triggering a disastrous race in Montreal. Former Formula 1 strategist Bernie Collins argued that the Woking-based team “made its own luck” after choosing to start both cars on intermediate tyres in rapidly drying conditions.

The decision was made shortly before the race as light rain continued to fall over Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, starting from the second row of the grid, were among the few front-running drivers to gamble on intermediates alongside Audi, Cadillac, and Carlos Sainz.

Initially, the strategy appeared promising as Norris surged into the lead heading into Turn 1. However, conditions evolved quickly after the rain stopped and two additional formation laps accelerated the drying process before the race officially began.

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McLaren was then forced to bring both drivers into the pits early to switch onto slick tyres. The move dropped Norris and Piastri deep into the midfield, creating the circumstances that ultimately ruined the team’s afternoon.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Bernie Collins explained that McLaren’s race collapse stemmed directly from the opening tyre decision.

"There are days you make your own luck, and everything that went wrong in McLaren's day escalated from the decision to start on intermediates," Collins stated.

According to Collins, being trapped in the midfield significantly increased the risks for both McLaren drivers. One of the immediate consequences came when Piastri collided with Alex Albon at the hairpin on lap 13.

Piastri locked up while attempting to follow the traffic ahead and slammed into the side of Albon’s Williams. The incident earned the Australian a 10-second penalty and forced him into an additional pit stop for front wing repairs.

"Oscar Piastri should never have been racing Alex Albon at that stage of the race," Collins added.

Norris also endured a difficult afternoon. The reigning world champion had already been forced into an unscheduled pit stop after his MCL40 began overheating due to debris blocking the radiators while running in heavy traffic. His race later ended completely when a gearbox failure forced him to retire on lap 40.

McLaren later confirmed the gearbox issue was unrelated to the overheating problem and would have occurred regardless of the earlier stop. However, Collins stressed that running in the midfield naturally increases the chances of collecting debris and placing extra stress on the car.

From a championship perspective, the result represented another major setback for McLaren as it attempts to close the gap to Mercedes. While Mercedes secured another dominant victory through Kimi Antonelli, McLaren left Montreal without points after Norris retired and Piastri finished outside the top ten in 11th place.

The Canadian Grand Prix also exposed that McLaren may still not fully understand the behaviour of its latest upgrade package under rapidly changing weather conditions. With Monaco and Barcelona presenting two entirely different technical challenges next on the calendar, pressure is now increasing on McLaren to respond quickly after one of its worst weekends of the 2026 season.