Lando Norris says it was ‘about time’ for Max Verstappen to ‘feel a bit nervous again’ at the front of F1 and, in a change of mindset, the McLaren driver won’t underestimate plus the team’s prospects ahead of a Monaco Grand Prix which could further open up the fight for the F1 title.
Norris heads into F1’s most famous event on the back of the best results streak of his career after finishing in the top two in each of the last three Grands Prix, a run that included his maiden victory ahead of Verstappen in Miami.
The McLaren driver threatened another triumph last Sunday at Imola when a late race charge saw him finish just a second behind world champion Red Bull. As his good friend Norris closed in, Verstappen was heard on the team radio complaining about his car’s lack of grip and the traffic.
Talk to Sky Sports News On Wednesday in Monaco, Norris was asked whether he had watched last Sunday’s race and whether, had he been aware of the agitated nature of Verstappen’s late-race radio messages at the time, he might have done so. something different earlier in the race to put more pressure on the race leader.
“I did everything I believed was right at that time,” Norris said.
“When it’s that close, you always think ‘what could I really have done a little differently’, but you always could have done something a little better or a little differently. I’m sure Max could have review things and say the same thing.
“But it’s good to know that it hasn’t been easy for him. It’s about time someone put him under pressure and he feels a little nervous again, because I’m sure he won’t. Haven’t felt it in a while.
“I don’t want to be overconfident – that’s never been the case – but we want to go into the races now and be confident to race against Red Bull, against Ferrari, because we’re in the same mix as them.
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Highlights of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
Despite crossing the line just 0.7 seconds ahead of Norris, Verstappen’s victory was nonetheless his fifth in the first seven races of the season and extended what amounts to a considerable championship lead of the world 48 points behind his current closest pursuer, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
Norris is fourth in the standings, 60 points from the top.
The Englishman said after his victory in Miami earlier this month that he ‘100%’ thought McLaren could challenge Red Bull for the title in 2025.
But with 17 races still to go this year in the longest season in F1 history, Norris is also not ruling out an earlier challenge for the remainder of 2024.
“We’re a third of the way there, so we have a very long way to go, so I think many, many things can happen,” the 24-year-old said.
“But Monaco is also a place where anything can happen. So I will never say ‘no’ again.
“I’m tired of underestimating what we can achieve as a team. So we’re going to get there, we’re positive, we’ve had a really good run of results – second, first, second.” – and there is no reason why we can’t continue this here in Monaco.
“It’s not known to be our best circuit but, at the same time, anything can happen.”
McLaren is the most successful team in Monaco GP history with 15 victories, but the last of these came from Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
The team has only finished on the podium in the Principality once since 2011 – Norris’ third place in 2021 – and last year the Englishman and teammate Oscar Piastri were pipped to ninth and tenth respectively places.
Last year’s Monaco GP took place three races before McLaren introduced its revolutionary improved car to Austria, although the slow-speed corners, of which Monaco’s street layout has in abundance, remained a weaker area for the team thereafter. Improving this feature was a partial goal of their major upgrade in Miami and the MCL38 will be put to the test in the tight confines of Monte Carlo this weekend.
“I wish I could go back in time to see Senna in Monaco”
Five of McLaren’s 15 victories at Monaco were taken by the legendary Ayrton Senna, going undefeated from 1989 to 1993.
This weekend, the Woking team pays tribute to the team’s most successful driver, and the most successful around Monaco with six victories in total, 30 years after his death, by running his car in the colors of the flag Brazilian national.
Norris was born five years after Senna’s death and admits he would have loved to see the legendary driver race.
“Unfortunately, I never got to witness it myself. I wish I could,” he said.
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McLaren has revealed an Ayrton Senna-inspired livery for the Monaco GP, as it looks to build on a positive few weeks for Lando Norris.
“Especially Senna around Monaco (which) is something that everyone has heard, seen and talked about. I wish I could go back in time and witness this kind of thing.
“But it is a celebration of Senna, of what he has done for Formula 1, of what he has achieved with McLaren, because it is a motivation not only for me but for everyone who is part of the team for what he managed to accomplish.
“The wins, the most successful driver here in Monaco as well, so a perfect place to do it.”
Monaco GP schedule live from Sky Sports F1
Thursday May 23
12:05 p.m.: F3 testing
1:30 p.m.: F1 drivers press conference
2:00 p.m.: F2 training
Friday May 24
10 a.m.: F3 qualifying
12:00 p.m.: First tests of the Monaco GP (session starts at 12:30 p.m.)*
2:00 p.m.: F2 qualifying*
3:45 p.m.: Second practice for the Monaco GP (session starts at 4 p.m.)*
5:30 p.m.: The F1 Show
6:30 p.m.: Final practice for the Indy 500
8:30 p.m.: Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge
Saturday May 25
9:40 a.m.: F3 Sprint
11:15 a.m.: Third practice for the Monaco GP (session starts at 11:30 a.m.)*
1:10 p.m.: Sprint F2*
2:15 p.m.: Preparing for qualifying for the Monaco GP*
3:00 p.m.: Monaco GP qualifying*
5 p.m.: Ted’s qualification log
Sunday May 26
6:55 a.m.: F3 feature race
8:35 a.m.: F2 featured race
12:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: preparation for the Monaco GP*
2 p.m.: The MONACO GRAND PRIX*
4 p.m.: Checkered flag: reaction from the Monaco GP
5 p.m.: Ted’s notebook
5:30 p.m.: The Indy 500
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Then, it’s time for the most famous F1 race of all: the Monaco Grand Prix. Watch every session of the famous Friday street circuit live on Sky Sports F1, with the Sunday race at 2pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month subscription – No contracts, cancel anytime
