Lando Norris on Monaco pole after recent F1 struggles: It’s been a long time coming

Lando Norris said a performance like the Monaco Grand Prix qualifying had “been a long time coming” for him following his recent struggles in Formula 1.

McLaren driver Norris had failed to match his teammate Oscar Piastri in recent races and fallen 13 points behind in the drivers’ standings after a series of critical errors.

However, he made a fantastic comeback on the streets of Monte Carlo on Saturday, outperforming not only Piastri but the Ferrari of home favourite Charles Leclerc.

The 1m09.954s time he set at the end of Q3 marked the fastest-ever lap around the Principality and secured him his first pole position of the season since the opening round in Australia in March.

Asked to sum up his feelings after topping qualifying in Monaco, given how difficult the last two months have been, the Briton: “It's been a long time coming.

“I feel good. I don't think you realise how good this feels for quite a few struggles over the last couple of months, especially here in Monaco.

“It's a beautiful place. The hardest track probably to do it. Up against the hometown hero as well.

“I'm very proud of the whole team. We have worked a lot this week - actually over the last few months - to get to a day like today so very pleased.”

Putting together a clean lap around the tight and twisty streets of Monaco is an enormous challenge, especially with F1’s current-generation cars that are much larger and heavier than previous spec machines.

Norris took provisional pole early in Q3 but faced a serious threat from Leclerc when the Monegasque driver lapped the circuit in 1m10.063s.

However, as part of McLaren’s two-flying-laps-per-run plan, he got another shot at pole and broke the 1m10s barrier on his final attempt.

“That's the tricky part, trying to consistently find lap times because it's what the others are going to be doing,” he said.

“It's improving more and more and you got to take a similar amount of risk. When you get to Q3, the final lap, it's just about who can risk a little bit more and who can commit a little bit more.

“But it was a nice lap. Well put together lap and it feels very good when you cross the line and it still paid off. I'm very happy.”

Pole position at Monaco usually guarantees the race win, with the Monte Carlo track notoriously difficult for overtaking.

However, F1 has introduced a new two-pitstop rule for 2025, throwing an extra layer of uncertainty into the race.

Asked how he felt the new rule could impact the outcome of the race, Norris added: "Honestly, I have absolutely no idea.

“At the minute I don't care. I'm going to enjoy today, I have worked hard for today.

“That's what tonight is for. Tonight is to prepare for tomorrow. I'm very pleased with today, I'm happy with quali, I'm going to live the moment for a little bit and then focus on tomorrow.”