Lando Norris: victory in Monaco would be « incredible »
Lando Norris has described the Monaco Grand Prix as the race that "every driver wants to win" during his F1 career. The McLaren driver wants to continue his good season, and that of the team, by fighting for the podium again this weekend.
After a stable start to the 2024 season, significant improvements have propelled Lando Norris and McLaren to the top of the standings in the last few races. The Briton fought with his rival from Red Bull, Max Verstappen, for a decisive first victory in Miami. He also secured equally strong second places in China and Imola.
Lando Norris naturally hopes that this positive trend will continue in the narrow and winding streets of Monte Carlo, a place he now calls home and where he has already performed well, having achieved a podium in 2021. « I mean, it would be incredible. Monaco is always a race that every driver wants to win at some point, simply because of the history of this place, its unique and prestigious character. »
« But I want to win every race, not just Monaco or that kind of thing. We are focused, we are in a good mood. Of course, the motivation and energy are very high within the team, as we have had good results lately. If we continue like this, there is always a chance », he says.
When asked about the fact that McLaren could have the fastest car this weekend, Norris tempered expectations by saying: “I have no idea. It’s such a different track from what we’ve had all season, no one can say if we will be the best or not. I think we have a competitive car, battling with Red Bull and Ferrari as we have shown in recent weekends. But anything can happen in Monaco, so we just keep our heads down as usual, work as hard as possible, and that’s all I ask for.”
His teammate at McLaren, Oscar Piastri, echoed these feelings as the Australian aims for his own first Grand Prix victory after winning the sprint race in Qatar last season. “I think we definitely have a chance,” he said about McLaren’s potential to fight at the front. “I think we can be confident after the last few weekends that we will be somewhere towards the front.”
We will wait and see exactly where this hierarchy stands, but I think it will be very close between us, Red Bull, and Ferrari, probably. The optimism is definitely there, but Red Bull and Ferrari are always tough teams to beat, so we won’t get too ahead of ourselves.
Norris and Piastri respectively occupy fourth and sixth place in the drivers’ standings before this weekend in the principality. McLaren is third in the constructors’ standings, 58 points behind Ferrari in second position and 56 points further behind the championship leaders, Red Bull.
