Lando Norris has admitted he was frustrated after finishing second to Max Verstappen at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 24-year-old went into the event full of confidence after his victory in Miami earlier in the month.
Yet Norris could only finish second, with Verstappen securing his spot at the top of the podium to extend his lead at the top of the F1 standings.
Norris has now opened up on the race in Italy.
Lando Norris has opened up after finishing second to Max Verstappen at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
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And the McLaren star admitted he was frustrating, insisting he'd have caught Verstappen if the race was slightly longer.
"Yeah, it hurts me to say one or two more laps, I would have had him," he said.
"Tough, I just lost out to Max too much in the beginning.
"One or two more laps would have been beautiful but not to be.
"He was better in the first stint, we were better in the second. Tough first half, better second half, one or two laps but not today.
"All weekend [close to Red Bull]. Yes I think we're at the point now we're in the position with Ferrari and Red Bull.
"The team are doing a good job, business as usual, fighting for second or first now.
"It's frustrating not to win, with last weekend and the improvements we've made, we're starting to think that way."
While Norris was annoyed by his failure to come out on top, Verstappen was delighted.
The 26-year-old has now won three years in a row at Imola, with the Dutchman simply unstoppable.
And Verstappen was pleased with the way things went after previously finishing behind Norris in America.
“The whole race I had to push flat out to try and make it up initially, on the medium tyres we were quite strong," he said.
"On the hard tyres it was a bit more difficult to manage, especially on the last 10 to 15 laps, I had no grip anymore and I was sliding a lot.
“I had Lando closing in so the last 10 laps were just flat out and it was very difficult when the tyres aren’t working anymore and you have to go flat out.
"I couldn’t afford to make too many mistakes, luckily we didn’t and I’m super happy to win here today.”
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Max Verstappen remains the man to beat after winning the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday
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He continued: “We changed a lot on the car, we didn’t have a lot of information going into the race, maybe that’s why the hard tyres were a bit more difficult for us.
“I think from where we started the weekend to now, we can be incredibly pleased with a pole and a win so I will take that.”
Lando Norris will need to go again when the Monaco Grand Prix commences on May 26
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Norris and Verstappen will now set their sights on winning the Monaco Grand Prix on May 26.
Verstappen is the defending champion, with the Red Bull star also securing glory there in 2021.
