Last week, Lando Norris won the Dutch GP in dominant fashion, finishing 22 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen in second place. However, the McLaren driver does not anticipate a similar level of performance at Monza.
At Zandvoort, McLaren knew the track suited them well. They brought upgrades and were dominant throughout, and after overtaking Verstappen on lap 17, Norris drove the remainder of the race virtually unchallenged.
Monza, however, appears to have something different in store for McLaren. The Woking-based outfit struggled at the ‘temple of speed’ in 2023, which Norris cited as a reason for his lack of optimism about the upcoming Grand Prix.
“It was generally one of our trickier races that we did last year,” he said on the F1: Chequered Flag podcast. “So we’re not expecting to be probably as good as we were last weekend. That’s for sure.”
FP2 DATA HIGHLIGHTS
⚫️Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari in a close fight for pole
Red Bull’s lacking top speed is currently hurting their performance (which cannot be explained by a lower PU mode alone)➡️Slowest car in Sector 1!TOP SPEEDS
-Williams reached 353km/h… pic.twitter.com/wOUnae78Y7— Formula Data Analysis (@FDataAnalysis) August 30, 2024
Additionally, Norris expects more competition at the Italian GP. In Zandvoort, McLaren’s rivals — Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull — were too far behind in terms of performance to pose a real threat. However, Norris insisted that the battle for the win in Monza would be much closer.
The Bristol-born driver recalled their poor result at Monza in 2023 and knows he cannot afford to finish Sunday’s race in the same position as last year — P8. With Norris 70 points behind Verstappen in the championship standings, anything short of a win could damage his title hopes.
Verstappen, meanwhile, feels that Norris has a good chance to win the Italian GP. Per the 26-year-old, Norris downplayed McLaren’s strengths in his post-practice interview on Friday.
Verstappen: McLaren looks strong
Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri finished FP2 in P2 and P4 respectively, with the latter being just 0.003 seconds slower than Lewis Hamilton in P1. Looking at that, the Dutchman asserted that McLaren would present a strong challenge at the Italian GP.
“They’re strong. I mean, there is no denying that, but we have to focus on ourselves,” said Verstappen, when asked about the papaya outfit’s chances of winning.
The grid was incredibly close in FP2 on Friday, with just half a tenth of a second separating the top five. As a result, Verstappen and Norris won’t be the only drivers to watch. Ferrari, with its upgraded rear wing, could have a standout performance in front of its home fans, while Mercedes will be aiming to bounce back after a disappointing Dutch GP.
With free practice not being the best indicator for predicting actual pace, qualifying would give a better idea of where the top four teams actually stand.
