Lando Norris is not getting carried away by McLaren’s dominant start to the Imola GP weekend. Despite finishing both sessions in the top two, alongside Oscar Piastri, the Briton expects to see rivals catch up in the upcoming sessions.
McLaren has won five of the first six races and is once again the team to beat this weekend. In the last race in Miami, the two McLarens finished over 30 seconds ahead of the nearest non-McLaren driver, George Russell.
Despite cooler temperatures in Imola compared to Miami, where the heat benefited the British team, the papaya team’s advantage remains significant. On Friday in Imola, both drivers ended up on top, gaining a few tenths on their rivals in FP2.
However, a recurring trend this year is that McLaren’s advantage shrinks in qualifying compared to free practice. That’s why Norris expects the competition to close in as the weekend progresses.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s doubts
“I’m quite happy with today,” said Lando Norris. “It’s a tough track to get into the rhythm. This is a track that’s all about timing and perfection, which isn’t easy at the speeds we reach.”
“So it was a fun day, we made some improvements and hopefully there’s more to come tomorrow.”
Regarding the superiority seen so far, the Briton said: “We’re always in good shape in FP2, always stronger than everyone else, but then we get to qualifying and the others catch up. So I don’t think we’re in a comfortable position, we still have work to do.”
And not only Lando Norris—Oscar Piastri also confirmed his teammate’s view. “Yeah. I mean, Saturdays have been very important pretty much everywhere this year,” he explained.
“In Imola, I think qualifying will matter a lot. It will be important. At the moment I don’t think it will be just me and Lando. Tomorrow, others will join the fight. So we’ll need to keep our heads down and find something extra.
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