Claiming his first victory at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, Lando Norris was particularly elated at the finish line. The McLaren driver explained that he had especially struggled towards the end of the race. Meanwhile, there was a slight disappointment for Charles Leclerc, who finished second in his Ferrari.
Lando Norris (McLaren, winner of the Monaco Grand Prix): “It’s an incredible feeling. It was a long race, a very long race, but it was really enjoyable. I was able to push quite a bit except in the final part behind Max (Verstappen) and with Charles (Leclerc) very close behind. And there you have it, we won in Monaco! No matter how you do it, I guess (smiles). Today, what I’ve dreamed of happened… This victory, it’s a dream for me since I was a child.
It was intense but I felt in control for most of the race. The hardest part was at the end with Max slowing us down. I chose to slow down a bit too to have some margin over him and be able to accelerate against Charles when needed. And I managed to handle that until the end. I’m very happy, my team too, and we’re going to have a great evening (smiles).”
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 2nd at the Monaco GP): “I’m not really happy but well, we lost the race yesterday (Saturday, in qualifications). Lando (Norris) did a better job this weekend and deserves the victory. I fulfilled my childhood dream last year (by winning), not this year, but this result is well beyond our expectations upon arriving here. We thought it would be difficult to get into the top 10 at the start! And we finish second, very close to the lead, so it’s a good weekend even though I would have liked to win.
The tight end of the race was good in the car too because until then, I had to leave a gap to Lando so as not to overheat my tires. When Max (Verstappen) tried to stay on track and hope for a red flag (which would have allowed him to make his last tire change while staying in the lead), it allowed me to put pressure on Lando but it wasn’t enough.”
Oscar Piastri (McLaren, 3rd at the Monaco GP): “It’s been a complicated weekend. The free practices were difficult and I arrived at the qualifications without much confidence. Today, I got closer towards the end of the race but not enough. Given the circuit here, you often finish where you qualified. But I’m quite happy overall. There will be things to look at before next year. Then I score good points in the Championship and it’s another podium here in Monaco (smiles). And if it was a bad weekend for me then it wasn’t so bad in the end. It gives something to work on before next week to come back stronger.”
