06/09/2025 17:35
Lando Norris has admitted he made too many mistakes during the
qualifying outing at the Monza circuit on Saturday. Norris briefly
had pole position to his name following his last attempt, before he
was displaced at the death by Max Verstappen. The Dutchman pipped
Norris by less than one-tenth of a second, however the latter held
on to a front-row start and will commence the race ahead of
championship rival Oscar Piastri. Norris was under pressure at the
end of Q2 to make it into the top 10 shootout as he was forced to
execute a last-gasp effort to progress into Q3. Having recovered
from the anxious moment, Norris admitted he has mixed feelings over
his day's work. "It was quite a session for me, just up and down,"
Norris said. "Too many mistakes here and there. But to put it all
together on the last lap, I was pretty happy. So I'm happy with
P2." When asked if he was surprised by Verstappen's pace, Norris
replied: "No. Max has been quick all weekend, it's never a surprise
with Max." McLaren is seeking its sixth straight victory on Sunday
as Norris looks to take a bite out of Piastri's 34-point
championship lead. However, Norris has suggested he expects
Verstappen to remain a factor throughout the grand prix. "Our race
on a Sunday is normally our strength," Norris said. "But to get
past Max, I'm sure it's going to be a big challenge. "But we'll
see. Their pace was also very strong. If you see the end of their
stint, they're doing the same lap times as us. "I don't expect any
magical things, and we have some Ferraris behind who I'm sure will
want to come through as quickly as possible. "It's a long race.
Many things can happen, and we'll see what we can do."
