Lando Norris wasn't holding back after Friday's practice sessions at Monza. The McLaren driver finished fourth, nearly four tenths down from the pace, and he's pretty worried about what qualifying's going to look like. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in their Mercedes machinery were ahead of him, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc rounding out the top three. Norris was blunt in his assessment: McLaren simply aren't competitive enough right now to fight for pole position.

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What's frustrating for the Woking squad is that things aren't working where they expected them to. Norris explained that the corners where McLaren thought they'd be strong are actually weak spots, while the sections they anticipated struggling with aren't as bad, but still off the pace. It's a confusing picture that doesn't look great heading into Saturday's shootout. The driver acknowledged that his recent victories at Hungaroring and Zandvoort, both high-downforce circuits, don't translate to Monza's low-downforce demands. Different tracks, completely different challenges.

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When asked if overnight changes could turn things around, Norris was cautiously pessimistic. He reckons it's incredibly tight at the top anyway, and the guys further down the grid aren't that far away either, which means any number of drivers could pull off a surprise. But his primary goal now isn't hunting poles. It's just about grabbing a solid result and making sure McLaren maximize points. That's a shift from the confidence they showed in the Netherlands just a week ago.

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The good news for McLaren came from their new H-Wing, which performed exactly as intended during Friday's running. Technical Director Neil Houldey confirmed the rotating rear wing worked aerodynamically and mechanically spot on, and they're planning to carry it through the weekend for extra performance. Houldey echoed Norris's comments about the gap being closeable but tough, admitting that four tenths is work to do but McLaren still have room to find pace through better energy harvesting and deployment strategies. Still, they'll need everything to go right to get back into this fight.

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