Norris admits Monaco win would be ‘incredible’ as he looks to capitalise on ‘very high energy’ at McLaren

Lando Norris has described the Monaco Grand Prix as the race “every driver wants to win” during their career, with the McLaren man aiming to continue his and the team’s upward trajectory by fighting for honours once more this weekend.

After a steady start to the 2024 season, sizeable upgrades have propelled Norris and McLaren into contention in recent races, with the Briton beating Red Bull rival Max Verstappen to a breakthrough maiden victory in Miami and scoring similarly strong P2 finishes in China and Imola.

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Norris is naturally hoping that positive trend will stick with him on the tight and twisty streets of Monte Carlo, a place he now calls home and an event at which he has previous form – after claiming a podium finish there in 2021.

Asked about the prospect of scoring a win in the Principality, he commented: “I mean, it would be incredible. Monaco is always one that every driver wants to win at some point, just because of the history of this place, how unique and how prestigious it all is.

“I would love it… But I want to win every race, not just Monaco or that kind of thing. We’re focused, we’re in good spirits. Of course, the motivation and the energy is very high from the team, because we’ve had some great results lately. If we keep it up, there’s always a chance.”

Pushed on whether he feels McLaren could have the fastest car this weekend, Norris moved to keep expectations in check, saying: “I have no idea. I have no idea. It’s such a different track to what we’ve had all season, no one can say whether we’re going to be the best or not.

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“I think we have a car that’s competitive and up there, fighting with Red Bull and Ferrari like we’ve shown over the last few weekends. But anything can happen in Monaco, so we’re just kind of keeping our head down as normal, we work as hard as we can, and that’s all I ask for.”

Norris’s team mate, Oscar Piastri, echoed those feelings as the Australian pushes for his own breakthrough maiden Grand Prix win to go with the Sprint victory he achieved in Qatar last season.

“I think we’re definitely in with a shout,” he said of McLaren’s potential to challenge at the sharp end. “I think we can be confident after the last couple of weekends that we’re going to be somewhere towards the front.

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“We’ll wait and see just exactly where that pecking order is, but I think it’ll be very close between us, Red Bull and Ferrari, probably. Definitely the optimism is there, but Red Bull and Ferrari are always difficult teams to beat, so we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves.”

Norris and Piastri sit fourth and sixth respectively in the drivers’ standings ahead of this weekend’s action, while McLaren hold third in the constructors’ – 58 points behind second-placed Ferrari and a further 56 behind championship leaders Red Bull.