Lando Norris rues Monza 'mistakes' after Max Verstappen pole defeat

Lando Norris has admitted he made too many mistakes during the qualifying outing at the Monza circuit on Saturday.

Norris briefly had pole position to his name following his last attempt, before he was displaced at the death by Max Verstappen.

The Dutchman pipped Norris by less than one-tenth of a second, however the latter held on to a front-row start and will commence the race ahead of championship rival Oscar Piastri.

Norris was under pressure at the end of Q2 to make it into the top 10 shootout as he was forced to execute a last-gasp effort to progress into Q3.

Having recovered from the anxious moment, Norris admitted he has mixed feelings over his day's work.

“It was quite a session for me, just up and down,” Norris said. 

“Too many mistakes here and there. But to put it all together on the last lap, I was pretty happy. So I'm happy with P2.”

When asked if he was surprised by Verstappen's pace, Norris replied: “No. Max has been quick all weekend, it's never a surprise with Max.”

McLaren is seeking its sixth straight victory on Sunday as Norris looks to take a bite out of Piastri's 34-point championship lead.

However, Norris has suggested he expects Verstappen to remain a factor throughout the grand prix.

“Our race on a Sunday is normally our strength,” Norris said. “But to get past Max, I'm sure it's going to be a big challenge.

“But we'll see. Their pace was also very strong. If you see the end of their stint, they're doing the same lap times as us. 

“I don't expect any magical things, and we have some Ferraris behind who I'm sure will want to come through as quickly as possible. 

“It's a long race. Many things can happen, and we'll see what we can do.”