McLaren’s Lando Norris said people expecting Max Verstappen and Red Bull not to recover from a difficult Friday ahead of claiming pole position at Imola are “a bit stupid.”
Verstappen struggled throughout practice, complaining over team radio regarding the balance of his RB20 and being a step behind the likes of McLaren and Ferrari.
Still, that didn’t stop the Dutchman from claiming a joint-record eighth consecutive pole position.
Norris, qualifying third, was less than a tenth behind Verstappen’s pole effort and was understandably experiencing mixed emotions in the post-qualifying press conference.
“I mean it’s almost impossible to overtake here, especially when the gaps are so small,” Norris said as he pondered a repeat of his maiden Grand Prix win in Miami.
On Red Bull’s Friday struggles, Norris said: “You always try and take advantage of other people’s mistakes and struggles. As bad as it sounds, you try and take advantage of those times.
“I don’t know, Max hasn’t had the smoothest weekend, but I think if anyone doubted that Red Bull or him coming back and doing a good job in qualifying, they’re a bit stupid.
“Yeah, I think we expected him to kind of be back on track and annoying to miss out to him once again in qualifying, but we’re close and I think we’re happy as a team with how we’ve all performed.
“So if we can continue and have a strong race pace tomorrow like we had yesterday and like we had in Miami then I think we can all look forward to a good race.”
Imola however, is an altogether different prospect than the Miami International Autodrome.
The circuit is narrow and there is just a single DRS zone, making it hard to pass, especially with how tight the field is at the front.
As a result, even after exhibiting a strong pace throughout practice, Norris was cautious regarding McLaren’s chances in the Grand Prix on Sunday.
“The whole weekend the car has been performing well and the team has been doing a good job,” said Norris.
“But I don’t expect us just to have like an easy day tomorrow. I think to overtake here is pretty much impossible, like I said. So that’s our first task.
“But at the same time, if we can pressure [Red Bull] and kind of keep on their toes throughout the whole race and have a performance like Miami, then I think we can be optimistic, of course.
“But just the overtaking and the strategy is probably a bit harder than what was in Miami.”
