Concerning Lando Norris F1 trend continues at Italian Grand Prix

Lando Norris was unable to retain the lead of the race for the seventh time when starting from pole position.

Norris lost the lead on the opening lap of the race at Monza, but this time, he made a strong start down to the first corner.

However, the McLaren driver was caught unaware by teammate Oscar Piastri, who produced an aggressive move into Turn 1.

Piastri ultimately led the opening lap of the race of the Italian Grand Prix, outclassing his teammate.

It means the seven previous occasions where Norris has started on pole, he’s not led the opening lap.

2021 Russian Grand Prix

Norris clinched his maiden pole position for McLaren in changeable conditions at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.

However, he lost the lead to Carlos Sainz on the opening lap before re-overtaking the Ferrari driver.

Norris would lead most of the race before a poorly timed switch to the intermediates saw him famously throw away his first victory.

2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix (Sprint)

After being fastest in the sprint shootout at Interlagos, Norris went on to lose the lead to Max Verstappen into Turn 1.

The Dutchman won the sprint by over four seconds.

2024 Chinese Grand Prix (Sprint)

Norris starred in tricky conditions once again, storming to pole in the shootout by over a second.

This time, it was Lewis Hamilton who got the upper hand into Turn 1 as the seven-time world champion passed him.

Norris tried to overtake Hamilton around the outside of the opening sequence of corners but ran wide in the process.

2024 Spanish Grand Prix

As Norris looked to cover off a fast-starting Verstappen in Barcelona, the pair were caught out by George Russell, who swept around the outside of both of them.

Norris dropped to third, with his Lap 1 display arguably costing him in the win given McLaren’s impressive race pace.

2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

Another lacklustre Lap 1 performance allowed Piastri to get past Turn 1.

That set the tone for the rest of the race with McLaren ultimately favouring Piastri when it came to swapping the pair around in the final stint.

Another missed opportunity for Norris to win in F1.

2024 Dutch Grand Prix

After storming to pole position at Zandvoort by 0.3s, Norris lost the lead to Verstappen into Turn 1.

But McLaren’s pace was so far superior it proved to be inconsequential as he won by over 22 seconds.

2024 Italian Grand Prix

The third time this year where Norris’ actions on the opening lap potentially cost him a victory.

This time at least he nailed the start, leading from Piastri into the first corner.

But this time Norris was lackadaisical into Turn 4 as Piastri overtook him around the outside.

This put Norris on the back foot, losing out to Charles Leclerc at Turn 5, and dropping to third.

While McLaren threw away the race anyway with a two-stop strategy, had Norris led from Piastri, and they ran 1-2, the result might have been different in terms of how they could control the race.