McLaren confirms no team orders at Monza, giving drivers free rein against Verstappen.
Lando Norris is pleased that McLaren F1 secured the front row on the starting grid. He believes this confirms the inherent strength of the car, even though he acknowledges that certain factors could still disrupt the race.
“Referring back to Zandvoort, we were encouraged to think we could have a very, very strong race. Here, it’s less so because it’s been much tighter,” Norris stated.
“Yet, we’re still first and second, which shows we have a good car, and that usually translates into a strong race car. However, I think tomorrow, there will be more question marks with, you know, graining, degradation, and things like that.”
“Everyone is at 4-1-2 with the tyres, and probably a bit more nervous about what might happen and what could happen. But we are in the best possible position. So, we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do.”
Having failed to capitalise on his pole position starts, he hopes to have learned valuable lessons and to improve his start this Sunday.
“A few things, really. We’ve reviewed everything as we always do. And I feel like we’ve made progress so far with our practice launches and other such aspects. So, yes, we need to keep going and do our best.”
Verstappen “will be behind us swiftly”
The British driver is aware that he could reclaim significant points from Max Verstappen, who starts seventh. Nevertheless, he expects Verstappen to not remain seventh during the race and to finish higher.
“It’s a good opportunity. I expect him to make his way through and probably be behind us quite quickly. Their race pace was very good on Friday. They were on the better side of graining and degradation.”
“So I expect them to be a bit more optimistic tomorrow. For one reason or another, they didn’t seem to make those steps forward during qualifying. He always seemed fast, like in Q2 where he was there and ended up being faster than me, even on a used tyre.”
“And even the gap with Pérez wasn’t as significant as usual. So I’m not sure if he struggled more with something or didn’t do enough laps, but… Yes, there’s a reason, I’m sure. And yes, we need to try to make the most of it.”
When asked about any team orders McLaren might enforce, Norris deliberately remained vague: “That’s our Sunday morning meeting. We’ve already discussed it a bit, but for now, it’s free to race, as always. I want to race. That’s what I came here to do. We’ve discussed everything and prepared for all eventualities.”
“If Oscar has a better race and takes the lead, it’s probably because he’s done a better job than me. We know what’s best for the team. We aim for a one-two finish as a team, and working together is the best way to achieve that.”
A “good opportunity” for Piastri at the start?
When posed the same question, Oscar Piastri too quickly played it down: “Yes, we’ve already discussed it a bit and will discuss it more tomorrow, I’m sure. I don’t have much more to add.”
The Australian driver hopes to capitalize on the start and will seize any possible chance to take the lead: “The start is always a good opportunity. It’s a long distance to turn 1 here.”
“Obviously, as a team, we need to do a bit better than last week, unless we want to have bad starts and create issues. It’s an opportunity, but there will be more tomorrow.”
“The strategy remains a question mark. No one has really done more than 10 laps on a set of tyres. So it will be interesting to see what happens. I think it will be quite interesting, even after the first lap.”
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Free to Race – McLaren’s Strategy Stands Firm at Monza Free to Race – McLaren’s Strategy Stands Firm at Monza
