Lando Norris has no hang ups about being beaten by Ferrari at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix as the McLaren star heaped praise on his team for what he described as “an amazing result” in Monte Carlo.
Despite Charles Leclerc having the race under control from the moment lights went out until the chequered flag, Oscar Piastri made sure to pester the Monegasque driver around the Circuit de Monaco for the majority of the race whilst Norris was never too far away in the sister car.
But neither of them could manage to make a move on the race leader, before the Australian dug in to lock down second place whilst Norris pressured his ex-teammate, Carlos Sainz, for the final podium place as they repelled Max Verstappen and the two Mercedes in the dying embers of the event.
Yet, whilst the win slipped away, McLaren’s Senna-style livery will still leave the track with a significant 30 points’ haul to extend their gap to Mercedes and close in on Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, with Norris perhaps reflecting on how far the team has come in the last year.
“The red flag simplified things and made thing less action-packed than they normally are in Monaco,” Norris told Sky Sports F1 after the 2024 Monaco GP. “It’s a good result for us as a team, not a lot to aim for during the race. You always think of what could have done and should you have done, but it’s impossible to answer it correctly.
“We did what we could, I think the pace was strong from the car today…so we’ll keep pushing. A fourth and a second for us is still an amazing result.”
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How were the standings affected by the results?
With McLaren and Ferrari locking out the top four places, they’ve both dealt substantial blows to the ambitions of their rivals this season as Red Bull, Mercedes and Aston Martin look to finish above both teams.
Out of eight rounds of this Formula 1 season, the defending champions have only won five of the races whilst Ferrari have taken two victories with McLaren claiming the other, which means that Red Bull now only lead the constructors’ championship by 24 points.
Meanwhile, McLaren have closed that gap to 92 points but crucially have opened their lead over Mercedes to 98 points. It’s an impressive feat considering after the 2023 Monaco GP, they trailed Red Bull by 232 points and Mercedes by 102 points.
For the drivers, Norris leaps above Sergio Perez after the Mexican crashed out on Lap 1 as he closed his personal gap to Verstappen down to 56 points. Meanwhile, Piastri now sits on 71 points, 17 points ahead of George Russell, by extending his gap over the Brit by eight points.
