Norris warns that Verstappen's Imola win 'shows how quickly things can change'

Lando Norris believes that McLaren's lack of pace compared with Max Verstappen in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix shows how quickly things can change after the Red Bull driver's victory.

The Briton finished runner-up on Sunday ahead of team mate and polesitter Oscar Piastri as a scintillating opening lap overtake handed Verstappen a race lead he never relinquished.

Norris started fourth and eventually found a way ahead of P3-starter George Russell. Having cycled ahead and then back behind Piastri through a Virtual Safety Car and then late Safety Car period, Norris was able to overtake his team mate in the closing laps with the help of fresher Pirelli rubber and DRS along the main straight.

Reflecting on the race, Norris commented:

• "Tough race, long race... just a bit of a race of patience today."
• "I think we did a good job with the strategy going long in the first stint."
• "I think the only downside is we didn't have the pace to the Red Bull. They were very quick, Max was very quick today, and not only did we struggle on pace but I think we also struggled with the degradation of things too."
• "What was our biggest strength two weekends ago turned into not being good enough this weekend, so it shows how quickly things can change."
• "But I think we're happy otherwise, it's still a good team result and that's the main thing."

The race result was in stark contrast to the previous round in Miami, where Piastri led home a McLaren 1-2. McLaren has generally had a strong car, but Verstappen continues to be a formidable opponent.

Norris acknowledged Red Bull's strength:

• "On average Max was quicker and it just turned out that this track, with the degradation of this track, therefore suited them."
• "We had a bit more rear degradation... and that seems to be where the Red Bull is still very, very strong in these slow speed corners."
• "We aren't getting complacent because we know how good they can be at times when things click and when they get it right, they're ahead, and that's the way it was today."
• "We just have to keep working, nothing more to say than that. We need to keep our heads down, working on ourselves and keep doing what we're doing."

Despite the result, Norris is only nine points behind Verstappen in the Drivers' Championship, showing how tight the battle is.