Lando Norris admitted McLaren lacks the uncooked tempo to problem Mercedes after a sobering Italian Grand Prix introduced his latest successful 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 Pace intent on slashing the championship hole.
Nevertheless, McLaren struggled to match its rivals’ straight-line pace, leaving Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri to salvage fourth and fifth.
The pair completed 19 seconds behind race winner Kimi Antonelli. The Italian driversurged by the sphere to safe a landmark victory for Mercedes forward of George Russell. Max Verstappen claimed the ultimate podium spot for Crimson Bull.
Reflecting on the race, Norris conceded that each Mercedes and Crimson Bull held a transparent higher hand at Monza.
“We’ve seen in previous races that the Crimson Bull might be very quick on a lot of these circuits, with good high speeds and stuff, and that was once more confirmed,” Norris mentioned.
“They had been higher than us. But it surely was clear that Mercedes are nonetheless in a league of their very own in comparison with us.
“You recognize, we received by greater margins over the previous couple of races, and so they had been nonetheless combating for good factors at these occasions. We weren’t even near combating for a high two.”
Outcome was not a shock for Norris
Regardless of the frustration, Norris emphasised that the outcome aligned with McLaren’s pre-race projections.
“Simply irritating, however we mentioned it earlier than the weekend. We’ve seen what our expectations are, and we nonetheless have work to do, which we knew,” Norris added.
“So it’s not a shock. We simply must work on the slow- and medium-speed corners, the steadiness of the automotive, which is simply not adequate, and a few straight-line pace.
“If we are able to type that, then that’s a whole lot of stuff sorted.”
Whereas McLaren has confirmed formidable on high-downforce layouts, its defeat in Italy highlights persistent aero-efficiency shortcomings. This have to be addressed to maintain its title hopes alive.
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