Lando Norris’ initial reaction to his maiden Monaco GP victory revealed his delight at fulfilling a lifelong ambition.
After securing a stunning pole position at the Monaco GP, Lando Norris had a scare at lights out on Sunday.
Beating home-hero Charles Leclerc off the line, he dramatically locked up going into Saint Devote. Smoke pouring off his tyres, he held the lead, crucially, not damaging his tyres.
With drivers required to make two mandatory pit stops, Norris came up against a slow Max Verstappen in the closing stages. Yet to make his second stop, the Dutchman backed Norris into Leclerc in an attempt to force the Briton into an error.
Not succumbing to the pressure, he made a statement of intent on the final lap after the Dutchman pitted by setting the fastest lap of the race.
Speaking to Jenson Button in Parc Ferme after the race, Norris revealed his emotions at winning the Monaco GP and delight at achieving one of his dreams.
‘It feels amazing,” he said. “It’s a long race, it’s a long gruelling race, but good fun. We could push for quite a lot of the race.
“The last quarter was a little bit nervous. We chose close behind and Max ahead, but we won in Monaco. It doesn’t matter how you win, I guess. An amazing weekend with pole and today. This is what I dream of .This is what I did dream of when I was a kid, so I achieved one of my dreams. But I think it was you, I saw you in front of my car before the start and I was like, if JB is here now, then it’s my good luck charm.”
Soaking up immense pressure to deny Leclerc a home Monaco GP win
Jokingly apologising to Button for using his catchphrase after winning the race in 2009, Norris said taking pole on Saturday did not guarantee race victory.
“I apologise. But, you know, most people say that you win Monaco on the Saturday qualifying. Such an exceptional job, but you still got to get it done on the Sunday.Lovely start and then the pressure you put under and all of those cars you had to overtake during the race.
Asked if the final part of the race was tense, Norris revealed the extent of the pressure he felt in the cockpit.
“It is. I mean, the worst bit really was just the end. You know, I felt quite under control the whole race.But Max was ahead and Max was kind of backing it up a little bit.
“And I knew that that’s when Charles had the opportunity. So I had to manage it quite a lot.I tried to back off of Max so I could push when I needed to and chill when I needed to. So I still had to manage. It was still a well-fought race.I’m very happy. My team are very happy.
