Lando Norris reveals the proudest part of his F1 2025 Monaco GP weekend wasn’t actually winning the historic race, but was that he sealed pole position in the wake of recent qualifying woes.
The Brit secured the job on Saturday, May 24 with a 1:09.954 to narrowly beat Charles Leclerc’s rapid Ferrari in a last-gap effort at the Circuit de Monaco, bagging his first pole since the season opener in Australia.
He managed to find nearly two tenths over Oscar Piastri, his McLaren teammate who has four poles in this 2025 Formula 1 season, and effectively handed himself the victory with the lap.
When the lights went out, he survived a heart-in-mouth moment as he locked up down to Turn 1 but then recouped and fended off Leclerc throughout the rest of the 78 laps, despite some gamesmanship from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The four-time world champion had stayed out and tried to back his title rival off into the chasing Ferrari in the hopes that McLaren could lose the win and their driver valuable points with it, but the 25-year-old held his nerve firm to claim victory.
Pole marked his resurgence to the front of the field following off-colour outings in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as qualifying threatened to undo his title charge, and that’s why Norris says winning wasn’t actually the proudest moment of the F1 2025 Monaco GP weekend.
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“I’ve been working hard over the last few months to get back to having that momentum that I had in Australia,” Norris told members of the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “That confidence. What I felt this weekend was a small step forward, but it’s not it. It’s not like I’ve nailed it now and everything’s back. There are still things that I need to work on.”
Norris continued: “Still things from both sides, but I’m very proud of yesterday. I’m happier with yesterday’s result than I am of today’s. I mean, today is incredible, but I was more emotional yesterday than I was today.
“That’s how much yesterday meant to me, to kind of get my groove back in qualifying, because it’s something I’ve just had my whole life. It’s just always been good, until this year.”
Norris calls for McLaren to continue work after winning F1 2025 Monaco GP
The seventh-year F1 driver has now closed to within just three points of the summit of the drivers’ standings, and has opened up a greater margin to Verstappen behind as he gets his season back on track.
However, he’s not settling at just winning in Monaco and then relaxing as he calls for both himself and the team to continue working together to give him the comfort he craves in the McLaren MCL39 after struggling with its slightly nervous rear end.
“There are still things that, as a team [they can improve], them giving me the equipment,” Norris added. “And I don’t mean just making a quicker car, because the car’s quick enough.
“But giving me the things I need from the car in order to excel and maximise results, and the differences from last year to this year.”
