After Sunday's thrilling race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where Lando Norris came very close to winning for the second time, he is certain that McLaren will soon be regularly challenging for race Race wins. Norris was supposed to start the race at Imola in third place, having been out-qualified by both Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.
But because officials penalised Piastri three places for blocking Kevin Magnussen in qualifying Q1, Norris moved up to the first row. Red Bull's three-time champion Max Verstappen won by 0.725 seconds over the British driver, who had his maiden victory two weeks earlier in Miami.
Lando Norris said, 'Another great weekend for the team. I fought hard right until the very last lap, but we just lost out a little bit too much to Max in the beginning. One or two more laps and it would have been beautiful – but it just wasn’t meant to be today.
Also Read: F1 Imola GP: Max Verstappen Beats Lando Norris in Intense Showdown at Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
'We’ve been competitive all weekend and I think we’re at the point where we’re able to fight Ferrari and Red Bull consistently. We must get used to that – the team is doing a very good job, so it’s great that fighting at the front is now business as usual. We just need to keep focused on improving. It’s still a surprise to say it’s frustrating to not win, but after last weekend and the improvements we made, it’s what we should start to expect.'
F1: Can McLaren Challenge Red Bull For Wins?
Perez and Max Verstappen both had balance problems on Friday at the Imola track, which was a major setback for Red Bull, which won 21 out of 22 races last year. Although Red Bull has had setbacks in the past, they have always recovered and returned even stronger. That said, it seems that Red Bull has not been able to recover this time to the same degree as they did after losing the Miami Grand Prix against McLaren.
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There are reports that Ferrari and McLaren are closing in on Red Bull. McLaren's good performance at Imola and Miami confirms this. After Friday's problems, Red Bull adjusted the RB20's configuration overnight before Imola qualifying, making it easier to drive. According to Verstappen's qualifying times, Red Bull is still slightly ahead of its competitors, which makes Sunday's race a must-win for the team.
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