Lando Norris did not hide his frustration after a very complicated qualifying session in Monza, where McLaren’s weaknesses on the straight lines were particularly penalizing.
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After two consecutive pole positions, Lando Norris hoped to continue his momentum in Monza. The reigning world champion ultimately experienced a much more difficult qualifying session, with the characteristics of the McLaren MCL40 particularly ill-suited to those of the Temple of Speed.
Only ninth in the session, Norris gains a position on the grid thanks to the engine penalty inflicted on Kimi Antonelli and will therefore start eighth. A result far from his ambitions after his recent successes in Hungary and the Netherlands.
The Briton, however, is not looking for a complicated excuse: according to him, McLaren is primarily paying for its lack of speed on Monza’s long straights.
A McLaren particularly ill-suited to Monza
The Italian circuit is almost a concentrate of the MCL40’s main weaknesses. Monza favors top speed, long full-throttle phases, and relatively slow corners, all characteristics that do not allow McLaren to exploit the main qualities of its single-seater.
The MCL40 generates more aerodynamic drag than some of its rivals. Added to this are gear ratios that would also penalize its top speed.
According to data presented during the weekend, McLaren would thus lose about 10 km/h to Mercedes on the straights, even though both teams have the same power unit.
Under these conditions, slipstreaming becomes even more important for Norris and Oscar Piastri.
“Most of the time is lost on the straights”
Norris also believes that his position is not the result of a particular problem encountered during qualifying.
“I don’t think anything went wrong. We just needed good slipstreaming,” he explains.
During the first attempt in Q3, the Briton had priority to leave the pit lane ahead of Piastri. A position that ultimately proved unfavorable.
“I had priority, in the sense that I had to be the first out of the pit lane on the first attempt in Q3. So Oscar had a few cars in front of him while I only had Antonelli.”
Consequence: Piastri was able to benefit from more favorable slipstreaming, unlike his teammate.
“Most of the time I lose is simply on the straights, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Norris also admits his own mistakes
The Briton, however, does not place all the blame on his car.
His lap wasn’t perfect, and Norris admits he could have done better himself.
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“It wasn’t my best lap either, I won’t deny it. But the vast majority of my deficit simply comes from the straights.”
The second run was precisely meant to allow him to benefit from a more advantageous situation. After being the first of the two McLarens to go out on the first attempt, Norris was supposed to place himself behind Piastri this time and benefit from his slipstream.
But the plan failed.
Piastri’s error ruins Norris’s plan
Piastri missed his first corner on his final attempt in Q3. His error compromised his own lap, but it also deprived Norris of the slipstream he desperately needed.
“On the second attempt, it was my turn to get behind and benefit from better slipstreaming, and that clearly didn’t go as I had hoped.”
Without this help, Norris found himself alone facing the MCL40’s top speed deficit.
A particularly frustrating scenario after seeing Piastri benefit from a better setup on the first attempt to set a significantly more competitive time.
The Australian had initially secured third place in qualifying behind Pierre Gasly and George Russell. However, he was demoted three positions for impeding Liam Lawson in Q2 and will ultimately start sixth.
“That’s the price to pay”
Despite his disappointment, Norris does not want to turn this situation into an internal controversy at McLaren. The exit order had been established, and the Briton knew that being the first to leave the pits carried a significant risk at Monza.
“I can’t really complain. We just had bad luck today, and that’s the price you pay when you’re first in the pit lane and have to go out first.”
The result is nevertheless particularly disappointing for a team that had just experienced two extremely strong weekends.
In Monza, McLaren’s aerodynamic qualities are much harder to exploit, while its deficit on the straights becomes impossible to hide.
A complicated comeback awaits Norris
Norris will now have to start from eighth position, behind several particularly fast straight-line opponents.
The good news for McLaren is that Monza traditionally offers overtaking opportunities. The bad news is that the MCL40’s lack of top speed could precisely make these maneuvers more difficult.
After winning the last two Grands Prix, Norris will therefore have to change his approach on Sunday: instead of controlling the race from the front, he will have to try to climb back through the field where every slipstream could become decisive.
On a circuit that directly exposes the weaknesses of his single-seater, Norris knows he has far fewer weapons than in recent races. In Monza, McLaren will have to find a way to compensate for its handicap on the straights if it still wants to play a leading role.
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