F1 | Norris: “We’re getting used to fighting for victories a bit”

Miami and Lando Norris’ victory were not a flash in the pan for McLaren. Confirmation came in the qualifying sessions at Imola, with the two MCL38s finishing in second and third place, playing for pole position on the edge of a thousandths of a second with an amazing Max Verstappen, capable of putting a patch on a Red Bull that until now had not shone at all on the banks of the Santerno.

Depending on your point of view, 91 thousandths may seem few or many. It probably seems like a lot to Norris, because with this very minimal gap he found himself third on the starting grid of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, also beaten by his teammate Oscar Piastri, who however is under investigation for impeding damage of Kevin Magnussen in Q1 which could also give the front row to the Briton.

As soon as he arrived at parc fermé, at Davide Valsecchi’s microphone, Lando still seemed quite satisfied with his performance, even if there could inevitably be a tad bit of disappointment: “I’m third, but I came very close to pole: there are three of us in a tenth, so the margins are really minimal. McLaren, as a team, it’s been a great day, but a great weekend overall so far. Oscar has done a great job and the same goes for Max. It’s exciting when that’s it and I can’t wait for tomorrow,” Norris said.

After the triumph in Miami, Norris seems to have taken a liking to it and did not hide when he was asked if the goal for tomorrow is the podium or if we can also try to aspire to something more: “Suddenly we are getting used to fighting for the win, or at least we’re getting close. Being ahead of Ferrari is a good result for us and we’ll be close. It will be a good race tomorrow and we hope it can be exciting for us inside the car, but also from watch”.

On a track like Imola, where overtaking is very difficult, pole would certainly have been a great help, but according to the McLaren driver there is still room to try to reverse the situation, even if it won’t be easy: “It’s It’s tough when the margins are so minimal, because everything will be decided between the start, the first corner and the strategy, so it will be a difficult race.”