Lando Norris has revealed McLaren was struggling for pace throughout high-speed corners in Imola, which impacted its form during the race weekend.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, leading home Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri.
It marked just the second time McLaren has been defeated in the opening seven rounds, with Verstappen adding to his victory in Japan last month.
While McLaren has largely had the upper hand in the opening phase of the season, Norris highlighted one area it has not been able to best Red Bull, which proved costly at Imola.
“It didn’t really feel great anywhere, to be honest,” Norris told media including RacingNews365.
“It didn’t feel wonderful to drive. But sometimes it doesn’t, and you're just quick. So it's a little bit difficult to say. It's just a very bumpy track.
“A lot of these high-speed corners, where we seem to maybe struggle a bit comparing to the Red Bulls.
“That’s where we’ve suffered the whole season so far, the high-speed corners. So we have to work in that area, and maybe that’s proved to hurt us a little bit more this weekend.”
Lando Norris issues fresh plea to McLaren
Red Bull has introduced upgrades across the last handful of races as it seeks to close the gap to McLaren, who lead both championships.
Norris reiterated that McLaren's early-season advantage means little in the context of the title fight as he issued a renewed rally call to his team.
“But we said it from the beginning that we have to keep working hard,” Norris added.
“Max has outqualified us several times, and their pace just converted today onto Sunday. Sometimes they've been ahead, but their pace on Sunday has not been too strong.
“They've maybe worked on some things, and their pace was better today.
“That’s the price we pay for not being quick enough.”
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!