Lando Norris

Lando Norris admitted he doesn’t get much enjoyment from the unique challenge of driving around Monaco while he’s on the track.

“I don’t enjoy it when I drive it,” said the McLaren driver. “I only enjoy it after I’ve driven it.”

However Norris admits there is a lot else he enjoys about the race, including the satisfaction of mastering the demanding Monte-Carlo circuit.

“I look forward to it because the experience is cool and the experience is special, unique, many different things,” he told the official F1 channel. “I don’t think many people smile when they drive around Monaco. If they do, they’re probably lying.

“When you cross the line, when you come out of the last corner, I think that’s the first opportunity you have to smile and realise what you achieved, realise the enjoyment behind it all.

“But I think around Monaco, there’s so much concentration, there is so much tunnel vision. It’s hard to really enjoy a lap of Monaco until you really relax and you drive a bit more slowly.

“The experience is special and I think every time you look back on a lap, that’s the moment that you smile, more than anything.”

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Norris hasn’t won a race since his victory in the season-opening round in Australia. He finished second to Max Verstappen last week at Imola and he doesn’t believe McLaren will necessarily be the team to beat in Monaco.

“We’ve been beaten plenty of times this year, so last weekend doesn’t change anything,” he said. “It shows that we’re still vulnerable in certain areas. We still have things to improve on, even though we’ve had some great weekends where we’ve looked dominant and we have been dominant.

“Clearly we still have some weaknesses, so it’s focusing on the good stuff, but trying to work on those weaknesses and improve.”

However his team mate Oscar Piastri, who started and finished ahead of him in Monaco last year, is confident about their chances.

“We should have a quick car,” said the championship leader. “It was a successful race for us last year around here so hopefully we can continue that form.

“Obviously the first third of the season’s been going very well. I don’t have any reason to think otherwise so I hope it’s a good one.”

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