Norris eyes 'opportunity' to close title gap on Verstappen

Lando Norris says he has a "good opportunity" to dress up crushed connected Max Verstappen successful nan title successful Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver took his 3rd rod position successful nan past 4 races, while Verstappen's Red Bull will commencement down successful seventh aft experiencing what nan world champion described arsenic a "very weird" qualifying session.

Norris, who led team-mate Oscar Piastri to a McLaren one-two up of Mercedes' George Russell, is 70 points down Verstappen successful nan drivers' standings pinch 9 races remaining.

The Briton said: "It’s a bully opportunity but I expect him to travel done and beryllium down america astir apt rather quickly."

Norris pointed to Verstappen’s beardown gait connected nan race-simulation runs successful Friday practice, and said nan Dutchman's car besides looked bully connected tyre wear.

All teams person been suffering from a arena known arsenic 'graining', wherever nan tyre aboveground tears and reduces grip, connected nan recently resurfaced Monza track.

If Norris is to person a dream of beating Verstappen to nan championship, he needs to summation an mean of conscionable complete 7 points a title - nan quality betwixt first and 2nd places.

As he is improbable to beryllium capable to triumph each nan remaining races, it efficaciously intends Norris needs different teams and drivers to push Verstappen down nan bid successful arsenic galore races arsenic possible.

Norris said: "Their title gait looked very beardown and [they are] connected nan bully broadside of nan graining.

"For immoderate reason, [Verstappen] didn't return nan aforesaid steps successful qualifying. In Q2 he was quick, quicker than maine moreover connected nan utilized tyre, and moreover his spread to [team-mate Sergio] Perez was not arsenic large arsenic it usually is. I'll effort and make nan astir of that."

Verstappen said Red Bull had been struggling each play but was astatine a nonaccomplishment to explicate his deficiency of capacity successful nan last portion of qualifying.

He had been 2nd fastest connected utilized tyres successful nan 2nd portion but was 0.36secs slower connected caller tyres successful nan last session, saying he had mislaid beforehand grip.

"It's conscionable weird it abruptly happened," he said. "Q1 and Q2 it was not for illustration that, but connected nan different manus our car is highly tricky to thrust from introduction to mid-corner.

"It is simply a monolithic equilibrium displacement astatine nan moment, truthful if you hole 1 point it creates different problem. So we person to beryllium rather observant pinch that arsenic well."

Asked if he would beryllium capable to title nan title win, Verstappen said: "Normally not. The full play already we were excessively slow.

"The problem is that erstwhile you don’t person a balanced car, of people successful nan title that is rather achy connected tyres also.

"Maybe it mightiness beryllium small amended successful nan race, but we are starting successful nan backmost of nan apical group truthful we conscionable person to hold and spot what happens successful beforehand of us. There are a fewer unknowns pinch nan graining arsenic well.

"[We will] do arsenic overmuch arsenic we can."

Norris, who produced 1 of nan astir ascendant victories of nan play astatine nan Dutch Grand Prix past weekend, cautioned against assuming McLaren would do nan aforesaid astatine Monza contempt locking retired nan beforehand row.

"Honestly, erstwhile you look backmost to Zandvoort, you could say, yes, location is capable grounds to opportunity we would person a very beardown title - present little so," he said.

"First and 2nd usually translates into a speedy title car, but location are much mobility marks astir graining and degradation, and [I'm] a small spot much tense astir what could happen. But [I'm] successful nan champion position for it."

And McLaren squad main Andrea Stella pointed to Verstappen's clip connected utilized tyres successful nan 2nd session, which was conscionable complete 0.3secs from pole, arsenic grounds that Red Bull were "strong" but that nan equilibrium had simply gone distant from Verstappen successful nan last session.

Norris' large interest is nan commencement - he has grounded to person immoderate of his 3 poles this twelvemonth into a lead astatine nan first corner.

He said: "You of people reappraisal things, and I consciousness for illustration we person made advancement truthful acold pinch our believe launches - conscionable ace connected and do our best."

Russell said: "If they make a bully start, it will beryllium difficult [to hit them]."

Russell's team-mate Lewis Hamilton starts sixth, emotion he had fixed up a chance of being connected nan beforehand statement pinch a bid of mistakes successful qualifying.

The seven-time champion said: "It was conscionable perfectly ridiculous from my side. Completely unacceptable. And it’s wholly me. Nothing else. Nobody else."

Hamilton has been struggling successful qualifying each play - his style of braking precocious and attacking corners does not beryllium good pinch nan existent procreation of cars, whose under-floor aerodynamics request a little fierce approach.

"I’ve sewage to find myself for qualifying somehow," said Hamilton, who has taken victories successful nan British and Belgian Grands Prix. "My racing gait is great. I’ve conscionable sewage to fig retired really to get backmost to my aged self.”

But Hamilton said he did not expect to beryllium capable to conflict done nan section to title victory, saying his target was to get past nan Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who qualified 4th and fifth, and title for nan podium.

The caller way aboveground has near nan teams and drivers expecting a title of different character.

In nan past, Monza has been a title successful which teams make only 1 pit stop, because it had a low-abrasion way surface, debased tyre deterioration and a agelong pit lane, which increases extremity time.

But nan caller aboveground has changed nan characteristic of nan way and it is now overmuch tougher connected tyres. Teams will still want to effort to do 1 stop, but higher tyre deterioration whitethorn unit them to do two.