Gary Anderson has now warned Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of the one thing that the McLaren drivers ‘cannot afford’ to do anymore to fight at the front of Formula 1.
Imola bore witness to another potential race win for McLaren last Sunday as Norris hounded Max Verstappen to the finish. The 24-year-old made use of his greater tyre life in the closing stages to launch a late attack. But the attack possibly came a lap too late to steal the victory.
Norris headed to the Emilia Romagna GP hot off of taking his maiden victory in Formula 1 at the Miami GP. While he benefitted from the safety car period to steal the lead, Norris pulled away from Verstappen following the restart. The Red Bull racer finished 7.612 seconds back.
Gary Anderson warns Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ‘can’t afford’ to make ‘mistakes’
A mere 0.725s would split Verstappen and Norris at the finish of the Emilia Romagna GP. But McLaren might have stood a greater chance of winning the race if Piastri had not received a three-place grid penalty. The 23-year-old impeded Kevin Magnussen in Q1 to lose a P2 start.
Piastri was only 0.074 seconds slower than Verstappen in Q3 in the fight for pole position at the Emilia Romagna GP. Norris inherited second place on the grid after qualifying 0.017s off his teammate’s lap. He would even threaten Verstappen for the win as Piastri finished in P4.
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Former Jordan and Jaguar technical director Anderson believes Norris and Piastri must now cut out those sorts of mistakes with McLaren emerging as Red Bull’s main challenger. Norris last cost himself a chance to win at the 2023 Qatar GP after failing to set a legal Q3 lap time.
“The team has a very reliable pair of drivers,” Anderson told The Telegraph. “At the end of last year, and even into the beginning of this year, Lando was worthy of winning races.
“But he made a few too many mistakes that hindered them a little bit, whether it be in qualifying or in the race. Piastri has also levelled his head a bit. The two of them are driving at a level now where they really can’t afford to make those mistakes.
“They have to try to maximise their potential. If you can eliminate mistakes, you can get more competitive and you can push a little bit harder and it flows just a little bit easier.”
McLaren and Oscar Piastri paid the price for his Emilia Romagna GP grid penalty
The Emilia Romagna GP will now go down as a missed opportunity for McLaren as Norris left it too late to pass Verstappen. But the Briton was faultless in qualifying and the race to finish in P2. Piastri, on the other hand, felt the costs of a penalty by struggling to pass Carlos Sainz.
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If Piastri started in P2 with Norris in P3, McLaren could have doubled up on Verstappen with Sergio Perez only qualifying P11 in the other Red Bull. But Piastri fell to fifth on the grid after blocking Magnussen as the Haas pilot passed through Tamburello trying to climb out of Q1.
McLaren will also know that, like Anderson states, Norris and Piastri cannot make any errors if they are to win further Grand Prix. The chequered flag came to Red Bull’s rescue at Imola as Norris had Verstappen on the ropes. But Piastri’s mistake meant he was not in their fight.
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