Lando Norris: We are fighting on equal terms with Red Bull and Ferrari

At Imola, Lando Norris lost only seven-tenths to Max Verstappen. After the finish, the McLaren driver summarized the results of the race…

Question: Lando, what were you thinking the last few laps?
Lando Norris: I really wanted to hear from the driver that I had to drive another lap. I did everything I could, attacked with all my might. But once the interval drops below two seconds, you start to lose downforce and grip and the tires start to overheat.

I struggled for a few laps, but once I understood how to drive I was able to overtake him. Seven tenths – one more lap, and he should have defended in the first corner, but I didn’t have that lap. It’s a shame, but everything is as it is.

Q: If you could do this race again, is there anything you would do differently?
Lando Norris: I would change the angle of attack of the front wing and try again. A lot depends on the tires. We expected the race to be a little colder, we set the car up for this weather and we paid for it. I had to be more careful with the tires, take good care of the tires, otherwise I would have fallen far behind.

But once I got the hang of the traffic and got back to my pace, the car worked fine. The tires started working, I was able to attack and I was happy. From then on the pace was great. This is a good sign.

It’s good to have a high race pace. But when it gets warmer and the rear tires deteriorate quickly, it obviously becomes more difficult for us. And we know it. However, I am happy with the result.

Question: How will the results of today’s race affect the next round in Monaco?
Lando Norris: Not really. It’s a completely different process. But we are on the right track, which increases confidence. We fight on equal terms with Red Bull and Ferrari. That was the goal. And we want to continue the fight in Monaco. Let’s see how everything turns out there.

Q: Before the weekend you said that you consider McLaren to be the third fastest car…
Lando Norris: She’s probably fifth or sixth. The results are so tight that everything depends on the controls. If Max hadn’t gotten into a slipstream during qualifying and Oscar hadn’t been fined, we might have started first and second. Our car was the fastest in qualifying.

It depends more on the steering, on how the driver assesses the situation. I don’t think you can say today that this car was faster and this one was slower. Everything is more complicated. And when you’re a tenth apart in qualifying, you can’t say one guy was better than the other, you know? I hope it stays that way, because it’s interesting, but also difficult. Every weekend gets you excited, so I’m looking forward to the next one.