Norris: I was praying for one more lap at Imola
Lando Norris was praying for an additional lap at the end of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after he closed to 0.725 seconds of eventual race winner Max Verstappen at the chequered flag.
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IMOLA, Italy -- Lando Norris was praying for an additional lap at the end of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix after he closed to 0.725 seconds of eventual race winner Max Verstappen at the chequered flag.
Norris took chunks of time out of Verstappen's lead over the final 20 laps of the race, reducing the Red Bull's advantage from over six seconds to under one second.
On the final lap, the McLaren driver was within a second of Verstappen, which would have given him use of his DRS overtaking aid into the first corner had the race run to 64 laps instead of 63.
"I was just praying for one more lap," Norris said. "I was just praying for someone to say one more lap. I don't know why.
"I mean, I just did everything I could. I was pushing like hell to get there and catch up and have a chance. But as soon as you get within two seconds, you start to lose downforce and grip. The tyres start to overheat again.
"I kind of struggled for a couple laps, but once I understood how I had to drive again, like the last lap I managed to get there, and seven tenths, like one more lap, at least he would have had to defend into Turn One, and maybe something could have come from that, but one lap too late.
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"It's a shame, but it is what it is, and we just struggled too much in the beginning of the race."
Norris' second place finish at Imola followed on from his victory two weeks ago at the Miami Grand Prix, where McLaren brought a major upgrade to his car.
He still believes Red Bull has a faster car overall, but is confident McLaren can challenge Verstappen more often at upcoming races.
"I would hope so," he said. "There's no reason after a couple tracks you would want to deny it. We also had a second in China, so we've had second, first, second, you know, and I think that's good signs.
"I don't think we're at their [Red Bull's] level just yet. As we saw today, they still have areas where they're better and maybe some areas where we are better now, which is a good sign. But yeah, I think there's going to be tracks where we can be stronger.
"I'm still looking forward to a couple of those tracks, but there's going to be somewhere a little bit off still. So we're working on those places and if we work and improve on them as much as we have the rest of the car, then I'm excited that we can definitely continue to fight them in more races."
Soriano's Career-long Start And Pillar's Pinch Hit Get Angels A Series-clinching 4-1 Win At Texas
ST. LOUIS -- — Rafael Devers tied a Boston record by homering for his fifth consecutive game, and the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-3 on Sunday to stop a season-high, four-game losing streak.
Devers hit a two-run homer in the sixth off Ryan Fernandez, his ninth home run this season.
“It feels good,” Devers said through an interpreter. “It’s important when we win these kind of games.”
He became the seventh Boston player to homer in five straight games, the first since Bobby Dalbec from Sept. 5-10, 2020.
“When that guy gets on a heater, it’s really fun to watch,” teammate Tyler O’Neill said. “He’s been one of the best hitters in the league for a long time.”
O’Neill homered against his former team as Boston rebounded after falling two games under .500 for the first time this season. The Red Sox outhit St. Louis 14-6.
O’Neill received a 45-second standing ovation prior to his first at-bat in the series opener on Friday. He also got a smattering of applause from St. Louis fans after the home run on Sunday.
“A very special weekend for me,” O’Neill said. “I’ve had this series circled on the calendar for a little while. The fans have greeted me with a lot of positively. This has been really heartwarming.”
O’Neill, who played for St. Louis from 2018-23, had two hits and a pair of walks. He hit his 11th home run of the season, a go-ahead, first-inning drive on a 3-0 pitch off Matthew Liberatore (1-2).
Nick Pivetta (2-2) gave up one run on one hit in six innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. He retired 18 of the 19 batters he faced.
“I was able to get in a good rhythm from pitch one,” Pivetta said.
Garrett Cooper hit an RBI double in the second, and Boston opened a 4-0 lead in the fourth on Romy González’s RBI double and Jarren Duran’s run-scoring triple.
Liberatore gave up four runs and six hits in three innings.
Lars Nootbaar homered for St. Louis, which had won five of its six previous games.
Pinch-hitter David Hamilton had a solo homer for the Red Sox in the ninth against Nick Robertson.
St. Louis scored 17 runs in winning the first two games of the series. The Cardinals have homered in seven successive games.
“We’re finally scoring runs and it feels good,” St. Louis infielder Brendan Donovan said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: RHP Giovanny Gallegos threw a bullpen session on Friday. He went on the 15-day IL on May 6 with right shoulder impingement.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: RHP Tanner Houck (3-5, 2.17) will open a three game series Monday at Tampa Bay and RHP Taj Bradley (1-1, 2.45). Houck threw a career-high 112 pitches over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-3 loss to the Rays on Wednesday.
Cardinals: RHP Sonny Gray (5-2, 3.05) will start Monday’s series opener against Baltimore and RHP Dean Kremer (3-3, 3.72).
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