McLaren's Montreal shocker hid a concerning trend Oscar Piastri needs to reverse

There is no doubt McLaren had a shocker - at least in the grand prix - last time out in Canada.

First was the bizarre decision to start on intermediate tyres on a bone-dry track, then came Oscar Piastri's banzai move down the inside at the hairpin that took out an innocent Alex Albon, before finally Lando Norris' car conked out with a gearbox problem.

But those problems aside, a somewhat concerning trend for the young Aussie also continued, and it's one he will be wanting to reverse ASAP.

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Norris is out-performing him in just about every metric.

Head-to-head this season, Norris leads Piastri 5-1 across all races – 2-1 in grands prix and 3-0 in sprints. This includes the Australian Grand Prix, from which Piastri crashed on the sighting laps.

Norris leads 5-3 across all qualifying sessions this season too, although Piastri has the slight edge in grand prix qualifying at 3-2. Norris leads 3-0 in the shorter sprint sessions.

And the numbers don't get much better by digging deeper.

In the two race meetings since the break forced by the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix, Norris has been the clear team-leader.

He's been quicker in all four qualifying sessions (two grands prix and two sprints), and if not for the gearbox failure in Montreal on Monday morning, would more than likely have swept the races too.

But wait, it gets worse when qualifying times are scaled up to a 100-second lap time, so they can all be directly compared.

Across the eight sessions, the gap between the two drivers is a miniscule 0.041 seconds.

But in Miami and Canada alone, Norris was 0.182 seconds quicker.

Norris' average starting position is a whole spot lower than Piastri's - 3.6 to 4.6, further putting the Aussie on the back foot.

Somehow, Piastri is still only 10 points behind his teammate in the standings, and the McLaren pair lie fifth and sixth.

Team boss whacks Piastri-Red Bull rumours

Meanwhile, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also poured ice on rumours of a potential Piastri move to Red Bull.

The Aussie's rocky end to last season fuelled rumours the Melbournian was looking for an out. Those rumours were further bolstered by Max Verstappen's repeated threats to quit the sport at season's end.

But in Montreal, Stella said McLaren's driver line-up was rock solid and the rumours were exactly that.

"You mentioned the silly season, I think we are already fully in this silly season," he said.

"When we think about Oscar, we couldn't be happier.

"I think we are seeing the best Oscar in the cockpit and also a happy Oscar, and the best version of himself outside the cockpit. Great dynamics and relationship with Lando.

"I think the team is in its strongest shape since I've been team principal. So definitely it's very clear, the direction for maximum stability at McLaren."

The F1 season will continue in Monaco next weekend. Norris won the sport's most prestigious race last year, ahead of Piastri in third.

Controversial FIA boss to scrap term limits

Controversial FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has proposed for the restriction on term limits in motorsport's top job to be removed.

The 64-year-old Emirati, who was re-elected as president unopposed in December, wants to abolish the current 12-year cap on terms.

Ben Sulayem is in the first year of a second term. Current rules would allow him to stand for re-election one more time before mandatory retirement.

Such a move would bring the presidency into line with other key positions within the FIA.

According to the BBC, when asked why it was decided to abolish term limits on the presidency rather than introduce them for the other positions, a spokesperson could not provide a specific answer. Instead, they pointed to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who started his tenure in 2006, and has since "transformed the sport into a global brand and it has an outstanding governance record".

The bill looks set to be introduced at the next FIA General Assembly next month, where it is expected to pass.

IOC president Thomas Bach rejected the chance to introduce a similar bill last year, declaring "our organisation is best served with a change in leadership; new times are calling for new leaders".

Tim Mayer, who was blocked from running against Ben Sulayem in December over a technicality, was scathing of Ben Sulayem's decision and praised Bach.

"Term limits are not a bureaucratic detail," he said.

"They are a fundamental safeguard of good governance, recognised as essential to preventing the concentration of power, ensuring renewal of leadership, and maintaining accountability to those an organisation exists to serve."

Ben Sulayem has previously been accused of directing officials to declare the Las Vegas track unsafe for racing, and also of trying to intervene in the results of races.

Several senior FIA figures have also either been sacked or stood down after speaking out against his governance.