Lando Norris admits McLaren front row lockout a ‘surprise’ after taking pole position in Monza

Lando Norris labeled the front-row lockout at the Italian GP as a surprise despite dominant performances from McLaren.

Lando Norris admits McLaren front row lockout a ‘surprise’ after taking pole position in Monza

Lando Norris (via imago)

McLaren has continued to dominate the playing field, courtesy of an extremely agile chassis. The team has come very close to ousting Red Bull from the top spot in the constructors’ championship. Hence, after securing a front-row lockout for McLaren, Lando Norris opened up regarding his thoughts on the same.

Lando Norris secured his second win of the season after dominating the grid at the Dutch GP. Hence, Woking was expected to perform similarly if not better at the Temple of Speed. Norris clinched the pole position for the main race with Oscar Piastri closely following the Briton at the top.

YouTube video

Norris highlighted that securing the pole position in Monza was an ‘amazing’ feat. Additionally, the Briton recalled Piastri’s claim of the field being ‘tight’ in terms of lap-time differences. However, despite the massive surge in performance, Norris claimed that a front-row lockout was a surprise.

FS Video
Another pole which is amazing. Like Oscar said to have both cars 1-2 after the field was tight as it has been all weekend is a surprise.
Lando Norris said during the post-qualifying interview
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Kimi Antonelli, Nico Rosberg and George Russell (via IMAGO)

McLaren could become the championship leader in Monza

Red Bull had dominated the grid ever since the beginning of the ground-effect era. Max Verstappen eliminated any chances of competition early on in the previous seasons. However, the 2024 season was a massive surprise as Lando Norris and McLaren continued to cut the difference in points swiftly.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Hence, after a positive performance at the Italian GP and a front-row lockout, the Orange squad is on the trajectory to overtake the Austrian constructor. The Monza circuit could very well be the race where Milton Keynes gets ousted from the top spot for the first time since 2022. As a result, the entire race would be extremely exciting to witness how Red Bull manages to fend off against its rivals.

Apart from this, Norris has also come very close to overtaking Verstappen in the championship standings. The current difference between the top two in terms of points is just 70. Hence, Verstappen would have to put forth his best performance possible in the coming races to achieve his fourth championship title.

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