Lando Norris Misses Out on Faster Lap Due to Oscar Piastri's Mistake in Monza Qualifying

Lando Norris expressed that he might have achieved a quicker qualifying time at Monza if teammate Oscar Piastri had not erred during the final moments of the session. Norris finished ninth, with his best lap of 1m21.966s placing him seventh after the initial runs, but he could not enhance his time on the second attempt.

The McLaren drivers had planned for Piastri to provide a tow for Norris during their final laps. However, Piastri, who was third after the first runs, locked up at Turn 1 and aborted his lap, leaving Norris without the crucial slipstream needed for a faster time. Norris noted that he had previously benefited from a slipstream from George Russell on his first run, but without Piastri's assistance, his second lap was slower at 1m22.573s.

Norris highlighted the importance of slipstreaming, estimating that it could improve lap times by as much as half a second. Despite the setback, he will start eighth due to a grid penalty for Kimi Antonelli. Piastri qualified third but will begin the race from sixth after receiving a penalty for impeding another driver.