Norris fulfills a dream as he takes his place in history

Lando Norris says he fulfilled a childhood dream by winning the Monaco Grand Prix, and hopes his track record is not beaten for a number of years to come.

New two-stop regulations were not enough to prevent Norris from converting pole position into victory on Sunday, beating Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. The success is Norris’ first at the iconic venue, and he says it’s an event he has wanted to win since he first started watching racing.

“It’s the feelings inside which are really the special ones,” Norris said. “Seeing the checkered flag and winning in Monaco is something I dreamed of when I was a kid. There are many things that I think everyone dreams of – it’s getting to Formula 1, winning a race in Formula 1, and winning a race in Monaco. And we achieved it today.

“So, proud of the whole team, of myself, and big accomplishment for all of us. The team haven't won since, what, 2008 or something? So not just a good one for me, but a good one for McLaren, too.”

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As is often the case, the victory was set up by securing pole position on Saturday, and with Norris setting a new track record at the end of the current era of car, he hopes his time will stand for some time to come.

“I think the best bit is that my kids one day will be able to tell everyone that I won in Monaco. That’s probably the thing I’m most proud about. I think it would be up there for sure, especially because of the weekend that it’s been – with pole and with the race. It wasn’t just a pole or just the race. It was both together, and I think that’s perfect.

“Regardless, I think that’s something to be very proud about for the rest of my life. But I think it’s a cooler thing to say, also from my lap time yesterday – the 1m09s – that’s very unlikely to be beaten for a very long time unless the track changes or whatever. The cars next year are nowhere near going to be as quick as this year. Hopefully, that lap time lasts for a very, very long time.

“So, it’s cool. It’s definitely just the saying more than anything, but also the meaning, the history, the people that have won here in the past. They don’t always go on to be champions, but most of them have. And just to know in 30 years’ time, I can say, 'I mastered Monaco that one year' – or hopefully a few more – but that one year is something I look forward to saying.”

Norris admits he did get nervous when Max Verstappen was leading but running slowly on old tires prior to his late final pit stop, with traffic also a tough aspect even when he had a clear lead.

“There were definitely some more tense moments in the race when I needed to push, and Charles was never that far behind. Especially at the end with Max ahead, there were some tense moments trying not to get too close to Max, otherwise that’s when Charles had opportunities. But I think we managed it well with the strategy.

“It’s always hard to know what we could have done better. I'm sure we can review things and look back on it. But in the end, the result was the perfect one. Tricky at times, with the amount of cars, there were big bunches of cars, so getting through them without making mistakes, without any silly things happening was always the most nerve-wracking bit. Otherwise, I felt good. I felt good with the tires, with the management of tires and stints and all of those things. So, I was happy."