Lando Norris claims he could’ve defeated Max Verstappen with ‘one or two more laps’ at Emilia Romagna GP

Lando Norris admitted that it hurt to lose the race to Max Verstappen in the final stages at Imola.

Lando Norris claims he could’ve defeated Max Verstappen with ‘one or two more laps’ at Emilia Romagna GP

Lando Norris (L), Max Verstappen (R) (images via IMAGO).

Max Verstappen emerged victorious at the Emilia Romagna GP despite facing a difficult weekend with the RB20. The Dutchman had a difficult weekend around Italy as he was spotted ranting about the issues. Regardless, the 26-year-old fended off well against the trailing Lando Norris. The Briton was extremely close to overtaking the reigning world champion towards the end of the race.

Max Verstappen was visibly upset with the issues with his RB20 during the race. The 26-year-old had also pointed out the issues in the chassis during the practice sessions as well. During the last few laps, Lando Norris was extremely close to Verstappen as the latter was again facing issues with the Hard compounds. However, some minuscule errors from the Briton saw him lose out on some crucial seconds and lose the race.

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Lando Norris accepted that it ‘hurt him’ to see such an ending to the Emilia Romagna GP. The Briton reckoned that if he had a few more laps, he could’ve had a shot at the consecutive race win. However, the 24-year-old lost a lot of time to the Dutchman during the beginning of the race and hence couldn’t manage a victory. Regardless, McLaren showcased a highly impressive performance against Ferrari.

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It hurts me to say but one or two more laps and I would have had him. Tough, I just lost out to Max too much in the beginning. One or two more laps would have been beautiful but not to be.
Lando Norris said during the post-race interview.

Lando Norris claims McLaren in a ‘position’ to fight with Red Bull and Ferrari

McLaren’s challenger enabled Lando Norris to have a great drive around the Imola circuit. The 24-year-old was extremely close to the victory and also led Charles Leclerc with a huge gap. Hence, the team has been looking very positive in terms of performing even better down the season. As a result, Norris was highly delighted with the chances of McLaren down the season.

Lando Norris (via IMAGO).
Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Norris reckoned that he could ‘happily’ say that McLaren was in a position to fight with the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull. Woking has constantly been fighting for the P1 or P2 finish during the races. Hence, it was a surprise for Norris to say that it was frustrating to not win races. The 24-year-old will likely score more race wins down the season if he continues such performances.

I think we are at a point now where we can happily say we are in a position with Ferrari and Red Bull, we are fighting for first or second now. It's still a surprise to say it's frustrating not to win.
Lando Norris mentioned.

Lando Norris needs to minimize any minor errors like the ones he committed at the Emilia Romagna GP. McLaren has provided the Briton with the best chances to score a race win over the season. Hence, the team will have to keep up with in-season upgrades to continue such a positive performance. McLaren will surely have more chances at race wins, courtesy of the two driver’s skills.

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