Norris remains realistic after pole: 'I Expect Max to catch us quickly'
F1 News
Lando Norris secured back-to-back pole positions for the first time in his F1 career on Saturday in Monza. The 24-year-old's lap was good enough for first place, and he will line up in front of teammate Oscar Piastri and fellow Brit George Russell. In complete contrast, reigning champion Max Verstappen struggled in qualifying and will start the race from just seventh place, providing Norris with a big chance of cutting into Verstappen's championship lead. Despite this, the Brit remains realistic, even expecting Verstappen to catch him in the race.
Norris: 'I expect Verstappen to be behind us quite quickly'
When asked if he could inflict damage on Verstappen's championship lead in Monza, Norris said: "Yeah, for sure. It's a good opportunity. I mean, I expect him to come through and probably be behind us quite quickly. Their race pace looked very strong on Friday. They were on the better side of the graining and the degradation. So, I expect them to probably be a bit more hopeful tomorrow," he began.
"For some reason, they just didn't seem to take those steps forward through qualifying. He still seemed quick, like even in Q2. He was right there and ended up quicker than me, even on a used tyre. But clearly, and even his gap to Perez wasn't as big as what it normally is. So, I don't know if he just struggled more with something or just didn't put good enough laps in. But, yeah, it'll be for a reason, I'm sure, and we need to try and make the most of that," the Brit revealed in the post-qualifying press conference.
The championship leader has struggled with his RB20 throughout the weekend and complained of an unsettled car in qualifying. Teammate Sergio Perez is set to join him on the fourth row of the grid, as the Mexican starts in eighth.
"We're still first and second, which means we have a good car, and that normally translates well into a good race car. But I think tomorrow there are more question marks with draining and degradation and things like that," said Norris, who stormed to victory last time out in Zandvoort.
"We're in the best position for it. So excited to see what we can do." Norris concluded. The McLaren star will be hoping to convert his pole into a race win, which would give him another opportunity to cut into Verstappen's 70-point-strong championship lead.
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18 September 2024
