MONTREAL (AP) 鈥� Lando Norris is putting the pressure on Ferrari.
The McLaren Formula 1 driver said the Canadian Grand Prix could be anyone鈥檚 race Sunday, but he鈥檚 giving the edge to the Italian team after Charles Leclerc鈥檚 victory two weeks ago in Monaco.
鈥淚 think they鈥檙e favorites,鈥� Norris said Thursday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible for me to say if it鈥檚 going to be us, Ferrari or Red Bull on top. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 exciting, because none of us really know.鈥�
Led by three-time defending season champion Max Verstappen, Red Bull won 21 of 22 races last year. Verstappen had a record 19 victories.
Red Bull tops the constructors鈥� championship this season, but Leclerc鈥檚 victory helped Ferrari move within 24 points.
Norris thinks Ferrari could have the upper hand again this weekend, partially because curb-riding is such a factor at recently resurfaced Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Leclerc downplayed the favorite talk.
鈥淓verybody doesn鈥檛 want to be going into a weekend hearing that they are favorites,鈥� Leclerc said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e never going to hear me (say) we are 100% the favorite this weekend and the same for them, so you鈥檝e got to throw the ball to your closest opponents.
鈥淚t might not be the true picture once we hit the track, the reality is we are so closely matched between those three teams.鈥�
Verstappen has a 31-point lead over Leclerc in the drivers鈥� championship. Norris trails Leclerc by 25 points, equal to one race win.
But three drivers from three teams 鈥� Norris, Leclerc and Verstappen 鈥� have won the last three races for the first time since 2021.
Last season, Verstappen won his second consecutive Canadian Grand Prix amid a run of a record 10 straight victories.
鈥淚鈥檓 not focused on what the others are doing because that鈥檚 just a waste of time and energy,鈥� the 26-year-old Dutchman said. "We know that from our side, there are things that we can do better and that鈥檚 what we鈥檒l focus on.鈥�
While Ferrari appears to thrive on courses where curb-riding is a big factor, the opposite has been true for Red Bull. Verstappen called Monaco, where he finished sixth and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez did not finish, a reminder of that.
鈥淭his is something that we know, and we haven鈥檛 been able to fix it yet. I do think that after Monaco, it gave us another wake-up call,鈥� Verstappen said. 鈥淲ith everyone catching up, naturally, you can鈥檛 rely on your advantage anymore even though your curb-riding is bad.鈥�
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AP Formula 1:
The Associated Press
