Lando Norris has issued a rallying cry to his McLaren team, saying it is “about time” world champion Max Verstappen felt some nerves on a F1 race weekend.
Norris became the third driver after Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr to win a race when he won the sixth Grand Prix of the year in Miami, matching last season’s total of three race winners.
But his McLaren team followed that up with an impressive performance at Imola to keep up momentum.
But now with consistency on their side, McLaren – and Norris – can get bullish.
“I don’t want to be overconfident – that’s never been me – but we want to come into races now and be confident in racing against the Red Bull, racing against Ferrari, because we are in the mix with them,” the Brit said.
Last time out
“I’ve got fed up of myself kind of underestimating what we can achieve as a team. So we’re going to come in, we’re positive, we’ve had a very good run of results – second, first, second – and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to continue that here in Monaco.
“It’s not known to be our best track but, at the same time, anything can happen.
“[It’s] nice to know [Imola] wasn’t an easy one for him, it’s about time someone put him under pressure and he felt a bit of nerves again, because I’m sure he hasn’t felt it for a while.”
The Monaco Grand Prix is famed for its glitz and glamour, where Formula 1 meets high society.
A tough track on the narrow streets of the Principality tests drivers to the limit, with concentration and patience often trumping brash and bullish overtaking moves.