Norris rues 'too many mistakes' in Canadian GP Qualifying as McLaren driver left in seventh

Lando Norris believes that "too many mistakes" and pushing "a bit hard" during a challenging Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix was what left him down in seventh on the grid.

The McLaren driver had shown impressive pace during the earlier segments of Qualifying in Montreal, which included topping Q1 and finishing second in Q2.

READ MORE: Russell beats Verstappen and Piastri to pole in thrilling Qualifying for Canadian GP

But the Briton was left on the back foot in Q3, running wide at the final chicane with his first effort before putting in another attempt which left him with a 1m 11.625s.

While others, including polesitter George Russell and team mate Oscar Piastri improved with their final attempts, Norris failed to find time and will start seventh for Sunday's race.

The McLaren duo had also opted against using the medium compound of Pirelli tyre in the final stages, with Russell and Max Verstappen opting to use the C5 option instead of the soft C6 to lock out the front row.

"I just pushed a bit hard and too many mistakes," said Norris post-session as he reflected on his lower than hoped for grid slot.

READ MORE: Hadjar hit with three-place grid penalty for impeding Sainz during Canadian GP Qualifying

When asked what might have been possible, he replied: "Good enough for a top three, probably not good enough for pole.

"Hard to know how much was maybe the medium tyre performing that little bit better, especially when the grip comes up. Maybe the medium is a touch better but it was a gamble.

"It was a risk and I guess every team has their own opinion on what they thought was best and clearly we didn't think that was going to be better. But we did what we did and I just didn't put it together when I needed to."

Norris trails Piastri by 10 points in the Drivers' Championship and will have Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso between himself and his main title rival, with Norris believing it will be difficult to make much headway in the Grand Prix.

"It's tough to say," said Norris. "I think we're maybe a little bit quicker than some of the cars ahead but not all of them. Top five is probably a good start."

FACTS AND STATS: Russell bags consecutive Montreal poles while Verstappen starts P2