‘Interesting’ - Lando Norris’ telling response to Monaco F1 sprint shock
Lando Norris has given his reaction to the news that Monaco will host an F1 sprint race for the first time in 2027.
Lando Norris was not exactly overly enthusiastic when informed about Formula 1’s surprising decision to add a sprint race in Monaco.
F1 announced its 2027 season calendar on Wednesday, including a shake-up with an increased amount of sprint races from six to 10 and the shock addition of Monaco as a host venue.
The big surprise was the news that Monaco - one of the most difficult F1 tracks to overtake on - will stage a sprint race for the first time.
Overtaking is virtually impossible on the tight and twisty streets of Monte Carlo but F1 believes having a second qualifying session and race will add variability to the weekend.
Reigning world champion Norris reacted to the news during an interview with Sky Sports F1’s Natalie Pinkham and golfer Justin Rose at the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am at Wentworth on Wednesday.
“Interesting,” Norris repeated several times when asked for his thoughts on Monaco having a sprint race.
“I guess the main thing is that means you've got FP1, [Sprint] qualifying on Friday - which is the challenge,” he added.
"Obviously not a lot happens in a race on Sunday or in the Sprint, but the challenge is just one practice session straight in, which has probably never happened before in Monaco.”
Norris believes having just a single hour of practice around the notoriously-challenging Monaco track before being thrust into competitive action will be tougher on the drivers.
"That's more [about] relying on data from this year,” Norris explained. "Obviously tougher for us as drivers.
"You don't have as much time to build up to things so you're going to you're probably going have to try and risk a little bit more earlier which is normally when you can see a bit more of a difference between people who can get comfy, try things and be at 99 per cent and not go to 103 and 104 [per cent] because in Monaco when you go to that limit, game over.
"It's more exciting for the fans and the people watching.”
As well as Monaco, sprint races will be held for the first time in Bahrain, Australia, Japan and Abu Dhabi. The other events will take place in Canada, Britain, Italy, Brazil and Qatar.
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