Lando Norris admitted McLaren lacks the raw pace to challenge Mercedes after a sobering Italian Grand Prix brought his recent winning streak to a sudden halt.
Coming off back-to-back victories in Hungary and the Netherlands, the reigning World Champion headed to the Temple of Speed intent on slashing the championship gap.
However, McLaren struggled to match its rivals’ straight-line speed, leaving Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri to salvage fourth and fifth.
The pair finished 19 seconds behind race winner Kimi Antonelli. The Italian driversurged through the field to secure a landmark victory for Mercedes ahead of George Russell. Max Verstappen claimed the final podium spot for Red Bull.
Reflecting on the race, Norris conceded that both Mercedes and Red Bull held a clear upper hand at Monza.
“We’ve seen in past races that the Red Bull can be very fast on these types of circuits, with good top speeds and stuff, and that was again proven,” Norris said.
“They were better than us. But it was clear that Mercedes are still in a league of their own compared to us.
“You know, we won by bigger margins over the last few races, and they were still fighting for good points at those times. We were not even close to fighting for a top two.”
Result was not a surprise for Norris
Despite the disappointment, Norris emphasised that the result aligned with McLaren’s pre-race projections.
“Just frustrating, but we said it before the weekend. We’ve seen what our expectations are, and we still have work to do, which we knew,” Norris added.
“So it’s not a surprise. We just need to work on the slow- and medium-speed corners, the stability of the car, which is just not good enough, and some straight-line speed.
“If we can sort that, then that’s a lot of stuff sorted.”
While McLaren has proven formidable on high-downforce layouts, its defeat in Italy highlights persistent aero-efficiency shortcomings. This must be addressed to keep its title hopes alive.
READ MORE – Ferrari issues ‘pure power’ deficit confession after further F1 ADUO upgrades
Discussion about this post