Lando Norris reacts to Max Verstappen beating him for pole position at the F1 Italian GP

Lando Norris was more or less content with his lap in the F1 Italian GP, as the driver was beaten by Max Verstappen by less than a tenth. The British driver had a slightly rough run throughout the session, where things became quite nervous in Q2 when his first attempt went down the drain.

In Q3 as well, Lando Norris' first lap was a struggle, as the McLaren driver was half a second slower than the benchmark time that Max Verstappen had put together. At the same time, championship rival Oscar Piastri was also a couple of tenths off the Red Bull driver after his first lap.

The final qualifying lap, however, was the one where Lando Norris put things together brilliantly and went to the top of the standings. The joy was, however, short-lived, as he was pipped by Max Verstappen, who was also on his final lap.

Talking to Nico Rosberg after the race, Norris admitted that he was more or less satisfied with the lap that he'd been able to put together. He said,

"Max has been quick all weekend and it's never a surprise with Max. It was quite a tough session for me, just up and down and too many mistakes here and there. To put it all together on the last lap was pretty happy so happy with P2."

He added,

"I always give my result based on how I drove on the day. I feel like I didn't do the best of jobs but P2 I'm still happy with. Good things and bad things. P2 is not a bad position to be off the line. I want to be ahead of everyone. A good position for tomorrow and excited for the race."

Lando Norris hoping to exploit McLaren's race pace advantage over Max Verstappen's Red Bull

The problem with Monza these days is that the track is not conducive to overtakes anymore. Almost all cars have very thin rear wings, and as a result, the DRS becomes a bit useless. Looking forward to the race, Lando Norris hoped McLaren's better top speed would come in handy against Max Verstappen's Red Bull, as he said,

"Sunday race pace is normally our strength but to get past Max I'm sure will be a challenge. I don't expect any magical things and we have some Ferraris behind who I'm sure will want to come through as quickly as possible."

The battle for the race win could very well come down to the first-turn battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, especially since the race might be a one-stopper, and it's going to be very hard to pull off overtakes.