Lando Norris wary of Max Verstappen threat with key Red Bull strength identified

Lando Norris has revealed that he expects Max Verstappen to come through the field “quite quickly” in the Italian Grand Prix, with Red Bull “better” on the tyres at Monza.

And he has insisted that he has no “desperation” to win the F1 2024 title – despite admitting that “every point is crucial” at this stage of the season.

Can Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris from P7 on the grid at Monza?

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Having stormed to victory at Zandvoort last weekend, Norris will go in search of consecutive victories at today’s Italian Grand Prix, where he heads a McLaren one-two on the grid.

McLaren’s hopes have been boosted by the poor performance of Max Verstappen in qualifying, with the reigning three-time World Champion set to start seventh having lapped seven tenths slower than Norris in Q3 on Saturday.

Verstappen currently holds a 70-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship over Norris with nine races remaining in F1 2024, with the McLaren driver in line to reduce that advantage at Monza.

McLaren domination? How F1 2024 would look without Max Verstappen and Red Bull

? The F1 2024 Drivers’ Championship standings without Max Verstappen

? Revealed: The F1 2024 Constructors’ Championship without Red Bull

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com in Saturday’s post-qualifying press conference, Norris admitted he has been presented with a “good opportunity” to close the gap to Verstappen in Italy.

Yet he is convinced that the World Champion cannot be dismissed, with the Red Bull RB20 car superior to the McLaren in terms of tyre graining and degradation – poised to be two pivotal factors on race day – in Friday practice.

Norris said: “For sure, it’s a good opportunity.

“I expect [Verstappen] to come through and probably be behind us quite quickly. Their race pace looked very strong on Friday, they were on the better side of the graining and the degradation.

“So I expect them to probably be a bit more hopeful.

“For some reason, they just didn’t seem to take those steps forward through qualifying.

“He still seemed quick. In Q2, he was right there and ended up quicker than me, even on a used tyre.

“But even his gap to Perez wasn’t as big as what it normally is, so I don’t know if he just struggled more with something or just didn’t put good enough laps in.

“It’ll be for a reason, I’m sure, and we need to try and make the most of that.”

Asked if pole position at Monza was important to keep his momentum building after the Dutch GP, Norris said: “It helps. It’s a great thing.

“You’re always trying to do your best and the higher you are, normally the better you’re doing.

“So it’s always rewarding but if I wasn’t on pole, and Mercedes or Red Bull were first, it’s also not the end of the world and you can only do the best you can every day.

“And today, again, just to show that we could be first and second was a great thing.

“Everything’s important at the minute for me. Every point, every position is crucial and that’s the way we have to work til the end of the season.

“Like we covered last weekend, it’s not like I have to do this and I have to do that and I need to do it.

“There’s no desperation and there’s no need for things, but it’s always going to help and make my life easier the higher up I am.

“So of course it’s rewarding. It’s a great thing. It makes me happy at the end of the day knowing that we’re on pole and we have this kind of momentum.

“And it’s not just a good thing for me, honestly, because I don’t think I think of it too much, but more for my team and for mechanics, the engineers, everyone back in the factory.

“It’s just constant motivation and boosts them to know we’ve come a long way, we’ve done a lot of work and we still have plenty more to go.”

Read next: Winners and losers from the 2024 Italian Grand Prix qualifying