McLaren not a top favourite at Monza? Norris predicts battle with these F1 teams
F1 News
- Nicole Mulder
Lando Norris finished Friday in Monza with a third and second time respectively, yet the McLaren driver felt the first day of the Grand Prix weekend in Italy was not ideal. As such, he does not think his own team is necessarily the big favourite for victory on Sunday.
Norris had difficult Friday in Monza despite P3 and P2
"I struggled a bit today," Norris told F1TV after FP2. "Mainly in FP1, where I just didn't have much grip. I think everyone will probably say the same thing, but the track improved a lot towards FP2. I probably didn't make as much progress as I needed to."
He continued: "I think the car was fast. Oscar was very fast. He made a big mistake and probably lost four or five tenths with that, so he should have easily been on P1. That's why I'm pretty far off, so I have some work to do."
So the McLaren looks fast, but Norris expects all four top teams to be in the running this weekend. "It was only FP2 and I think we were running at full power and the rest were not," he admits. "So I think it's close between Ferrari, us and Red Bull. Mercedes also looked fast after FP1. So it looks like eight cars have a chance this time. Eight cars that all look fast and should make it exciting on Saturday."
This article has been written in collaboration with Ben Stevens.
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