Lando Norris believes a mistake by Oscar Piastri in the closing moments of Italian Grand Prix qualifying cost him a faster lap, potentially costing him positions on the grid. Norris was ninth in qualifying, setting his best time on his first Q3 attempt at 1m22.256s, which placed him seventh. He was unable to improve on his second attempt due to lacking a slipstream, as Mc Laren planned for Piastri to lead him to provide a tow.

Piastri, third after the first runs, made a mistake into Turn 1, locked up, and aborted his lap, leaving Norris without the planned tow. Norris explained that Mc Laren struggles with straightline speed, requiring close following of other cars with a two-second gap to optimize laps. He started 2.3 seconds behind Piastri on the final lap but was unable to benefit from the slipstream after Piastri's error.

Norris stated that the slipstream could be worth half a second or more, which could have put him in contention with Ferrari and Max Verstappen. Piastri admitted he was too ambitious under braking for Turn 1, trying to compensate for speed differences. The team's garage location, far from pit exit, led to sending cars out first to avoid being last in the queue.