2021 Italian Grand Prix – Friday Qualifying "Today, we found out that we're competitive at this track"

Monza, Friday 10 September

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, and Executive Director, Racing, Andrea Stella after Qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.

LANDO NORRIS, #4

  FP1  1m22.103s (+1.177s)  27 laps  12th 
  Q1 1m20.196s (Softs)     3rd 
  Q2 1m20.059s (Softs)    3rd 
  Q3 1m19.989s (Softs)    4th 

"I'm satisfied with today – we’re back in a much better position after last weekend, and we seem much more competitive. I think it’s the perfect start to the weekend. There was a possibility of being P3 if I'd put the lap completely together – but one small mistake, I think, cost us. It's a bit of a shame that I missed out on it, but fourth still puts us in a very good position compared to the people we’re really racing against and battling with this weekend and for the Championship. I'm happy – and it's a good way to bounce back after last week."

Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale Monza

1 Jan 1970

Monza
Monza
Monza
Monza

DANIEL RICCIARDO, #3

  FP3  1m22.003s (+1.077s)  27 laps  9th 
  Q1 1m21.292s (Softs)    8th 
  Q2 1m20.435s (Softs)    5th 
  Q3 1m19.995s (Softs)   5th

“From a general standpoint, I’m happy. We were fast and were fighting for top three on the grid, so I’m happy we had the potential to do that. But I’m so frustrated that we got that close but not quite close enough. It was more of a tease than anything, but it’s all good.

“I think the team performance was great. We didn’t put ourselves in a difficult situation with any of the out-laps and I was in the right places in terms of track position, we had good tows. My only frustration is that it’s so close and, unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the milliseconds. It is what it is and I’m now looking forward to the racing.”

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ANDREA STELLA, Executive Director, Racing

“One aspect of the Sprint Qualifying format is that it allows us to see where we are much earlier in the weekend. Today, we found out that we’re competitive at this track, and expect it to be better for our car than Zandvoort was. We had a difficult event last weekend, so it’s encouraging that we could bounce back immediately and put ourselves in a good position to score well here at Monza. There’s a lot to do before that, with Sprint Qualifying tomorrow following a final practice session. We need to keep working hard, keep thinking and optimise all of the variables still within our control to ensure we can maximise our opportunity.”

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