LANDO NORRIS HIGHLIGHTS ‘BIG’ OSCAR PIASTRI MISTAKE IN ‘QUITE A LONG WAY OFF’ ITALIAN GP VERDICT

Lando Norris fears he is “quite a long way off” the pace ahead of the Italian Grand Prix after a “big mistake” by Oscar Piastri masked the true difference between the McLaren drivers at Monza.

Norris is going in search of consecutive victories for the first time in his F1 career in Italy, having dominated from pole position at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Lando Norris wary of ‘very quick’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri at Monza

The British driver enjoyed a productive first day of running at Monza, with Norris classified third in the opening practice session before taking second – just 0.003 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes – in the afternoon session.

Norris claimed Piastri was on course to obliterate his time before a “big mistake” on his qualifying simulation saw the Australian manage only fourth, 0.120 seconds off Hamilton’s overall benchmark.

Norris is wary of his team-mate’s “very quick” pace at Monza, admitting he would have been “quite a long way off” had Piastri posted a truly representative lap.

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He said: “I struggled a little bit today, probably more with the car in FP1. Just low grip, I think everyone’s going to say a similar thing.

“But the track improved a lot for FP2 and I probably just didn’t progress as much as I needed to.

“The car was quick. Oscar was very quick. He made a big mistake, he probably lost four or five tenths, so he easily should have been P1 and therefore I’m quite a long way off, so a bit of work for me to do.”

Norris claimed the biggest margin of victory so far in F1 2024 in the Netherlands, finishing 22.8 seconds ahead of reigning three-time World Champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

The 24-year-old is braced for a tighter battle this weekend, with up to four teams in contention for the win.

He added: “It’s FP2 and I think we turn up [the engine] and others don’t.

“So it’s close, I think, between Ferrari, us, Red Bull I’m sure after FP1. And Mercedes are very quick as well.

“So it’s eight cars all looking fast and it should make it exciting tomorrow.”

McLaren’s last victory at Monza came in 2021, when Daniel Ricciardo collected the team’s first win since the 2012 season.

Norris finished second on that occasion in what remains his only Italian Grand Prix podium finish to date.

2024-08-30T18:10:20Z dg43tfdfdgfd