Lando Norris played down McLaren’s 1-2 showing in the Friday practices at Imola, stressing there’s still work to do ahead of a crucial qualifying.
The Briton anticipates McLaren’s rivals will close the gap as teams ramp up their performance heading into Saturday.
In FP1, Oscar Piastri set the pace with a 1:16.545s, narrowly edging out team-mate Norris by just 0.032s.
The pair remained closely matched in FP2, but while their gap shrank, Piastri held a 0.276s advantage over third-placed Pierre Gasly.
Speaking after the session, Norris downplayed McLaren’s prospects despite their dominant start, warning that the true competitive picture won’t emerge until after qualifying.
“[In] FP2, we always look good, we always look much better than everyone and then we get to qualifying and they catch up,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“So, I don’t think we’re in a comfortable place. – we still have work to do.
“Alpine were quick, they’ve always been quick here.
“I’m sure Red Bull will catch up and Mercedes will be on it, just when they turn their engines up.
“So, nothing too comfortable but I think a productive Friday.”
The Australian racing driver echoed Norris’ caution, acknowledging the strong start but emphasising there’s still more to find ahead of qualifying.
“I think there’s still some things we want to try and work on and improve,” he said.
“This wouldn’t be the first Friday where we’ve looked strong and then everyone’s found a bit more going into qualifying.
“So I think we still want to find a bit more but everything’s gone pretty smoothly.
“The car’s feeling decent – still a few more things to tweak, but all in all, not bad.”
Norris finished second last year to Max Verstappen whilst Piastri just missed out on a podium, as the Imola circuit has been a happy hunting ground for McLaren with three podium-finishes in a row since 2021.
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