F1 | Not only Max Verstappen, McLaren also fears Ferrari at Monza – Italian GP
The biggest opponent will inevitably be Max Verstappen, but McLaren’s drivers expect Ferrari to be highly competitive at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. After the excitement of Friday, Saturday brought a reality check: Ferrari lowered the expectations of its fans at Monza, yet nothing is completely lost for the team in red at their home race. With Max Verstappen securing pole position ahead of a McLaren, once again confirming himself as the man to beat this season, the papaya team knows it must look ahead carefully—while also keeping an eye on what is happening behind them.
During the post-qualifying press conference, Lando Norris underlined his belief that McLaren’s race pace will be strong. “Usually Sunday is our strong point,” he explained. However, he admitted that, “overtaking Max, I am sure, will be a big challenge.”
Norris added that Red Bull’s pace looked very solid as well: “We will wait and see. Their race pace was also very strong. If you look at the end of the stint, they were doing exactly the same lap times as us. So I am not expecting any magic tricks.” The British driver then warned of a threat from behind: “We have the Ferraris who, I am sure, will try to get as close as possible, as quickly as they can. It is a long race. Many things can happen, and we will see what we can do.”
Oscar Piastri also spoke after qualifying, saying he was not surprised to see Max Verstappen on pole position, given how close the times had been. “Was Max at the top of my list of rivals this weekend? I thought maybe Ferrari would be a little closer,” the Australian admitted during the press conference at Monza. “Especially based on what we saw last year,” he added.
“In general, when the competition has been tight, Max has normally been the one right at the front. So I do not think it is a massive surprise, but compared to last year, maybe it is a little bit more of one,” Oscar Piastri concluded.
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