Lando Norris makes ‘tricky’ Max Verstappen comment immediately after the Italian Grand Prix

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It was expected that the battle at the Italian Grand Prix would be between McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The gap in the drivers’ championship increased to 34 points after Oscar Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix and Lando Norris suffered a rare mechanical fault.

However, the hundreds of thousands of fans who descended upon Monza witnessed yet another Max Verstappen masterclass.

Red Bull suddenly had a race-winning car at their disposal, and Verstappen needed no further encouragement to claim the 66th win of his Formula 1 career.

Verstappen didn’t lead from start to finish, having to overtake Norris after being told to give up the lead of the race over the team radio.

However, he had no trouble overtaking the McLaren driver a few laps later on the run down to the first corner.

That’s where the drama looked like it was going to end, until McLaren were forced to use team orders after their late pit stops.

Norris came home in second, three points ahead of Piastri to close the gap in the championship to 31 points.

While he didn’t address his McLaren teammate directly, he did comment on Verstappen’s performance immediately after the race.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Lando Norris praises ‘good fight’ with Max Verstappen after the Italian Grand Prix

Norris was being interviewed by Davide Valsecchi immediately after the race, and he explained: “I always knew it’s going to be a good fight with Max, and it was (at the start). So enjoyable, but just not the speed today of Max and the Red Bull.

“A tricky one, one of the first few weekends where we’re just a bit slower. But still fun, still a good race, so I enjoyed it.”

When asked about the pit stop conundrum, Norris continued: “No idea [with the pit stop]. I felt like I was there quite a long time.

“Every now and then, we make mistakes as a team, and today was one of them.

“I did everything I could today. I couldn’t do a lot more. I tried to fight against Max. We had a good race, and he came out on top.

“Second was our best result, and I need to keep up what I’m doing.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Max Verstappen raves about ‘super enjoyable’ Italian Grand Prix victory

Verstappen was delighted after the race, and when asked about his third win at Monza, he said: “It was a great day for us. Lap 1 was a bit unlucky, but after that, we were flying.

“The car was really enjoyable. I could manage the pace quite well throughout that first stint, and we pitted at the right time.

“With the hard tyres at the end, you can push a bit more; it’s more resilient.

“Fantastic execution by everyone by the whole team. The whole weekend, we were on it.

“It’s super enjoyable to win here.”

Verstappen is now less than 100 points behind Piastri in the championship, meaning that mathematically, he’s still in the conversation to win a fifth consecutive title.

He would need an almighty capitulation from McLaren for that to happen, and it would be an unprecedented turnaround across Formula 1’s 75-year history.

However, Verstappen will know how important building up momentum into 2026 will be with the new regulations on the way, and if Red Bull are capable of finding solutions to issues at this late stage of the campaign, then that will give him further encouragement.