Norris with ‘work to do’ after being ‘a long way off’ Piastri at Monza

Lando Norris admits there is “work” for him to do after he was a “long way off” Oscar Piastri in FP2 for the Italian Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old highlighted how a mistake which cost his team-mate “four or five tenths” of a second during qualifying simulation runs masked the Australian’s true pace.

Norris ultimately finished that session just three-thousandths of a second slower than Lewis Hamilton, who topped the timing sheets, but feels Piastri “easily should have been P1” at Monza.

“I think I struggled a little bit,” Norris explained when looking back at the first track day of the Italian Grand Prix. “Probably more with the car in FP1, just low grip.

“I think everyone probably is gonna say a similar thing, but the track improved the lot for FP2, and I probably just didn’t progress as much as I needed to.

“The car was quick. Oscar [Piastri] was very quick. He made a big mistake. He probably lost four or five tenths [of a second], so he easily should have been P1.

“Therefore, I’m quite a long way off, so a bit of work for me to do.”

Norris started the day by finishing third in FP1, less than three-tenths of a second off Max Verstappen, who was quickest over the weekend-opening practice hour.

And whilst he was ultimately disappointed with his performance in the subsequent session, he was quick to underline how close he expects qualifying and the race to be between the leading four teams.

“I think we turned up another stone, so it’s close, I think, between Ferrari, us, Red Bull I’m sure, after FP1,” he said.

“Mercedes are very quick as well. So it looks like definitely eight cars this time, eight cars all looking fast and [it] should make things exciting.”