At the finish line of the Italian GP Norris is only third. This time too, the English driver was unable to capitalize on the great performance he had in qualifying. He lost precious points in the drivers' championship, with Piastri and Leclerc who overtook him already during the first lap. Norris has shown once again that to aim for Verstappen there is still a lot of work to do. Both on his part and on the part of the team.
Norris and McLaren waste again in the Italian GP. More points lost on Verstappen
After the brilliant qualification yesterday, Lando Norris and McLaren seemed to be the favourites for today's victory. Yet here is a script already seen ready to play out: less than optimal driver management and imperfect strategy. The result? Another missed victory and points lost in terms of the championship, today when Verstappen and Red Bull clearly showed themselves to be in difficulty, with the Dutchman crossing the finish line in fifth position. What happened this weekend in Formula 3, with Minì losing the championship at the last corner to Fornaroli, should make something click in the minds of the Orange. In fact, as motorsport teaches, every point can be important at the end of the season. Andrea Star He should know this well, given that he lost a world championship to Alonso in 2012 by just a handful of points, thanks to accidents and, above all, incorrect strategies.
That year it was Sebastian Vettel who triumphed, the same one Stella said he was inspired by, referring to the 2013 season, where the German won nine races in a row. The ambition at McLaren seems to be there, as well as the confusion in the management of the drivers. At the start Norris seemed to have started well, but after the first variant he was surprised to see himself overtaken by Oscar Piastri, who very often seems to be his first thorn in the side, even more than Verstappen and the other opponents. Perhaps, if they really wanted to aim for the championship, it would be the case for McLaren to choose which horse to back. Especially now, with a Norris who rarely ends a weekend with a smile, and who would need to feel more protected.
Norris prefers to congratulate the winners: "Ferrari did a better job"
The English driver is also to blame, of course, who too often appears too soft and inconsistent, especially when it comes to battling with his teammate. The disappointment for the overtaking suffered by Piastri in the first tense moments of the race is still burning at the end of it. But the Norris Tormented seems to be split into two parts, which with great difficulty seem to be able to keep together. In fact, on the one hand the English driver aspires to the title, which given the performance of the car seems still possible today, finding himself 62 points behind Verstappen in the standings. On the other hand, however, we find Norris as a team man, always too cautious when he is near Piastri, always satisfied with the team's results and, as happened today, always ready to avoid controversy in public statements.
Norris does this by shifting the focus to something else. In this case, when Nico Rosberg asks him to tell what happened in the second chicane, McLaren's number 4 spent little time on the subject, shifting instead to Ferrari and Leclerc's performance.It took me by surprise because he passed me (Piastri). But I don't know what I could have done differently. If I had braked later we would have crashed. I will have to look at what happened, but Ferrari had the better race. Charles did an amazing job, so hats off“. And then again on Piastri: “Congratulations to Oscar, he did a good job, he surpassed me and so he deserved it".
Norris also revealed something more about the race strategy. After a disastrous second stint, which saw him move away from Piastri and almost be caught by Leclerc who was third, Lando returned to the pits for a second pit-stop, thus abandoning all hope of victory.One-stop strategy? We considered it throughout the race but it wasn't possible for the amount of graining I hadIt's hard to accept but we knew it would be difficult for our car and the limitations we have. I'm a little disappointed, but Ferrari did a better job".
