Lando Norris is of the opinion that his qualifying time at Monza could have been much faster had his teammate Oscar Piastri not erred in the dying moments of the Italian Grand Prix shootout, a blunder that might have indirectly cost the reigning Formula 1 world champion some spots on the starting grid.
Ending up ninth in the qualifying order, Norris posted his strongest Q3 time during his initial run. A lap of 1m22.256s initially placed him seventh, but he found himself unable to find any extra pace during his final run.
According to his assessment, this setback was primarily because he was essentially forced to lead the pack on track as the session drew to a close.
The British driver subsequently clarified that McLaren’s strategy involved Piastri leading the way on the final run to offer a slipstream. Both McLaren cars ventured out of the pit lane ahead of the rest, with Piastri positioning himself in front of Norris. However, the Australian—who sat in third place after the opening runs—suffered a lock-up entering Turn 1 and abandoned his flyer, denying Norris the crucial tow that provides a massive advantage around the high-speed Monza circuit.
During the opening run, Norris led Piastri but managed to catch a tow from George Russell ahead. His initial effort was three-tenths of a second off his teammate’s pace, and he was subsequently deprived of the scheduled slipstream during the follow-up attempt due to Piastri’s error.
“I held priority for the first Q3 run, meaning I had to exit the pit lane first, which left Oscar with several cars ahead to slipstream while I only had George [Russell] in front, causing me to lose most of my time on the straightaways,” Norris remarked.
“There wasn’t much I could do about it, and while I admit it wasn’t my absolute cleanest lap, the bulk of the deficit was on the straights. On the subsequent run, it was supposed to be my turn to follow and benefit from a tow, but things clearly didn’t pan out the way we planned.”
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri
Image credit: Manuel Eletto / Getty Images
Norris pointed out that because McLaren continues to experience straightline speed deficiencies, both drivers needed to trail other competitors closely, targeting an optimal gap of roughly two seconds to maximize their lap times.
Consequently, as Piastri crossed the timing line to begin his decisive qualifying lap, Norris was trailing by a mere 2.3 seconds. However, the Australian driver locked up his front-right wheel heading into the opening corner and bypassed the turn via the escape road. As he returned to the asphalt, Norris was already passing by, overtaking his teammate.
According to Piastri, the choice to release the cars early was dictated by McLaren’s pit garage placement, which sits far from the exit. Remaining in the garage any longer could have trapped both competitors at the rear of the pack, risking their chances of crossing the line before the checkered flag fell.
“Naturally, having a tow is crucial here,” the Australian noted. “We entered the session fully aware that our pit lane location usually forces us to exit first, otherwise we risk getting stuck at the very back. It was quite chaotic behind Lando and me.
“If you fail to get out early, you get caught behind everyone and miss out on setting a final time.”
Piastri further conceded that he was overly aggressive on the brakes into the first turn in an attempt to claw back lost time.
“On that second attempt, I was spearheading our group,” he added. “Since I was already about two-tenths behind by the time I reached Turn 1, I tried to make up for it. The braking markers shift significantly with that kind of speed variance, so I probably pushed too hard, locked up the front wheel, and that ruined the lap.”
Lando Norris driving for McLaren
Image by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
This situation stripped Norris of any aerodynamic tow, resulting in a slower second lap of 1m22.573s—nearly three-tenths off his initial benchmark.
When questioned if a tow was only worth two to three-tenths, Norris argued that its true benefit is far greater: “No, it’s closer to half a second, perhaps even more than that.”
Finding an extra half-second on his last attempt would have likely thrust Norris into contention with Max Verstappen and the Ferraris, who secured the grid slots from fourth through sixth.
“Lacking a tow is what truly cost me,” he expressed. “To be honest, our car is struggling massively on the straightaways right now; without a solid slipstream, we simply lack the top-end speed to compete.
“Oscar was able to capitalize on a strong tow and make the most of it. I never got that same opportunity, so I just have to accept the outcome.”
Nonetheless, the McLaren driver will move up one spot on the starting grid due to a penalty handed to Kimi Antonelli. This elevates Norris to eighth, while the Italian slides to the rear of the field following changes to his power unit elements.
Even so, Norris maintained that his team was never truly in contention for the top spot, citing their clear straight-line speed disadvantage relative to their rivals.
“The hardest pill to swallow this weekend is our lack of straight-line velocity,” he admitted. “Kimi was capable of running a 1m22.1s or 1m22.0s completely on his own. With a proper slipstream, he likely would have clocked a 1m21.6s.
Lando Norris behind the wheel of his McLaren
Image by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
“We needed to be positioned very close to another car. I only had a single-car tow and dropped two-tenths to Oscar, who benefited from a double-car slipstream on his first run. That makes it frustrating, but it is simply the reality we must deal with at the moment.”
Having emerged victorious in the previous two rounds in Hungary and the Netherlands, Norris understands that replicating those triumphs at Monza will be a tall order—both due to his grid position and because the circuit layout does not play to the strengths of the MCL38.
“Those who found themselves at the front of the field earned it through pure pace rather than good fortune, showing their speed right from the start of Q1,” he observed. “They excel on the straights and perform well through low-speed bends, so they fully merit their starting positions without relying on luck.
“As for our package, we are likely among the slowest in a straight line. Having to launch a lap just two seconds behind another car is a crazy requirement, but without it, we simply lack pace. We will find out what is possible tomorrow, but in clean air, I suspect we won’t be competitive at all. Honestly, we seem to be quite far off the pace.
“Ultimately, Oscar delivered a solid performance today, whereas I simply missed out on having the same chance.”
Although Piastri concluded the qualifying session in third, he is set to line up sixth for Sunday’s Grand Prix after being handed a three-spot grid penalty for blocking Lawson during Q2.
