For someone who just recently suffered heartbreak following his breakup with longtime girlfriend, it appears that Lando Norris can be pained by anything but his 2022 Italian Grand Prix grid position.
In getting an important third at the end of the qualifying on Saturday with several penalties factored in, Lando Norris does have the best possible chance to bag a podium for his McLaren team.
After all, a P3 start on the grid isn’t the worst possible place from which to contest a Formula 1 Grand Prix, right?
Where recent results stand, then it clearly appears that Lando Norris had been on a consistent scoring spree. That’s before Belgian Grand Prix came and sombered everything for the highly talented and super confident Belgian-British driver.
But how’s that?
Following his P6 at Great Britain, Lando Norris bagged impressive results at Austria, France and Hungary. Interestingly, his performances were ultimately identical in each of the three races he was a part of on the European circuits leading up to the F1 summer break.
With three P7 finishes on the trot, Norris hit a hat trick of seventh-place runs in F1; performances neither too terrific nor lukewarm for them to be ignored.
As a matter of factly, in the next few minutes, Lando Norris could well gather a brilliant podium finish, which would be actually his second this year.
In a season where McLaren have often struggled for pace, especially when compared to Alpine, Lando Norris is still at it.
After getting off to a lull right at the start, where the Bahrain GP drive unfurled a P15, Lando Norris scored a defiant podium at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which was just the fourth race of the season.
And more importantly, Lando Norris continues to be the strongman at McLaren, not Daniel Ricciardo, who unlike initial expectations, was to have “schooled” the inexperienced F1 young driver.
But having said that, what are Lando Norris’ own impressions of the Italian Grand Prix, which happens to be the home event of the Tifosi?
Well, truth be known, it doesn’t appear as though the 22-year-old Bristol-born driver is too optimistic about Monza.
So why is that?
Well, the following is what you have to believe:
“As much as I hate to say it, if we can have a seventh and eighth now, I think that’s a realistic aim but also a good result. It’s quite simple, six cars a lot quicker than us, we’ll go for that. A 1-2 is our aim tomorrow. We just might fall short…”exclaimed a rather pessimistic Lando Norris, which isn’t really always the case with the exciting Briton.
That told, it’s pretty much even stevens between Ferrari and Red Bull at Monza, at least, from the looks of it. While Leclerc gathered another pole position here at Ferrari’s home turf, his first coming in his maiden season (circa 2019), it can’t be said for certain whether Ferrari will have it extremely easy at their own den.
You never know with Max Verstappen or for that matter, Sergio Perez.
It’s all to play for! Lights out and away we go, as Crofty would say!