Lando Norris unfazed by Max Verstappen’s newfound pace in his maiden F1 title hunt

Lando Norris has reacted to talks of possible concerns regarding the newly found pace of Max Verstappen at the Italian Grand Prix. The British driver detailed how the pace of the Red Bull driver could be a good thing for his title pursuit.

Norris, who finished second during the race at the Monza circuit, largely trailed Verstappen, finishing the Grand Prix over 19 seconds behind the Dutch driver. Quizzed following the conclusion of the Grand Prix about whether the blistering pace of the Red Bull Racing driver could be a concern in his fight for the championship, he stated:

“No, I wouldn't say so. In a way, it's probably a good thing. I need to try and use it to my advantage. Certainly, today was not for my advantage, just because he took a lot of points away, from the first and second, and the main thing is we were just too slow today. We couldn't fight for a win; he was way too quick for us.”

Lando Norris further reflected on the McLaren team's outing at the Italian Grand Prix.

“We have things we need to improve, things we have to work on. It's disappointing; it's not often we've been able to say that this year. But it shows that others are there. As much as they want to complain every single weekend, we get beaten still quite a lot, more than we would like, as much as we're dominant.”

The Italian Grand Prix race witnessed Lando Norris and the McLaren team struggle to match the pace of Verstappen through much of the competitive end of the Grand Prix. While the 25-year-old had led through free practice, he failed to pose any solid challenge to the four-time world champion. Norris will now shift his focus to recording a better outing when the Formula 1 paddock heads to the Streets of Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Lando Norris speaks on his pitstop challenge

Lando Norris also weighed in on the challenge he had with his pit stops during the Italian Grand Prix. The nine-time Grand Prix winner temporarily lost track position to teammate Oscar Piastri following a pit stop mishap.

Norris, who came in during the final stretch of the race to switch to the soft compound tyres, was stationary for over four seconds during his tyre change. Quizzed about what had played out with his length stop following the conclusion of the Grand Prix, he responded:

"No idea (with the pit stop). I felt like I was there quite a long time. Every now and then, we make mistakes as a team, and today was one of them.”

"I did everything I could today. I couldn't do a lot more. I tried to fight against Max. We had a good race, and he came out on top. Second was our best result, and I need to keep up what I'm doing."

Lando Norris, who lost track position to Piastri, would be handed back his position following a radio message asking the Australian driver to let his teammate through in the final stages of the race.