The Prague Post - Norris savours 'dream' Monaco maiden win to close gap on Piastri

EUR -
AED 4.176255
AFN 79.390989
ALL 98.193591
AMD 435.36026
ANG 2.034878
AOA 1043.183241
ARS 1289.770921
AUD 1.750319
AWG 2.048035
AZN 1.935451
BAM 1.956071
BBD 2.291917
BDT 138.259137
BGN 1.956071
BHD 0.427959
BIF 3378.267596
BMD 1.137007
BND 1.460202
BOB 7.844086
BRL 6.420344
BSD 1.135157
BTN 96.761393
BWP 15.237109
BYN 3.714814
BYR 22285.344582
BZD 2.280116
CAD 1.561168
CDF 3257.525981
CHF 0.934017
CLF 0.027895
CLP 1070.438163
CNY 8.191343
CNH 8.155293
COP 4741.456279
CRC 577.379917
CUC 1.137007
CUP 30.130695
CVE 110.280264
CZK 24.862484
DJF 202.137979
DKK 7.464569
DOP 67.039279
DZD 150.321806
EGP 56.718851
ERN 17.055111
ETB 153.66757
FJD 2.560308
FKP 0.840345
GBP 0.840019
GEL 3.115035
GGP 0.840345
GHS 12.542736
GIP 0.840345
GMD 81.864155
GNF 9833.361065
GTQ 8.713206
GYD 237.482871
HKD 8.905707
HNL 29.54709
HRK 7.538017
HTG 148.530559
HUF 403.944581
IDR 18472.106093
ILS 4.107979
IMP 0.840345
INR 96.87246
IQD 1487.005821
IRR 47896.435778
ISK 145.150752
JEP 0.840345
JMD 180.384968
JOD 0.806187
JPY 162.102967
KES 146.700305
KGS 99.430933
KHR 4543.628897
KMF 494.033808
KPW 1023.306628
KRW 1552.833585
KWD 0.348504
KYD 0.945931
KZT 580.570359
LAK 24524.394496
LBP 101705.977432
LKR 339.837038
LRD 227.021423
LSL 20.318012
LTL 3.357287
LVL 0.687765
LYD 6.201858
MAD 10.434144
MDL 19.682724
MGA 5075.702543
MKD 61.538518
MMK 2386.910637
MNT 4065.219049
MOP 9.154867
MRU 45.143248
MUR 51.972611
MVR 17.578193
MWK 1968.272435
MXN 21.877557
MYR 4.810707
MZN 72.666256
NAD 20.318012
NGN 1807.614101
NIO 41.775782
NOK 11.49075
NPR 154.818429
NZD 1.899555
OMR 0.437611
PAB 1.135157
PEN 4.153075
PGK 4.653644
PHP 62.956086
PKR 319.940684
PLN 4.253589
PYG 9056.253503
QAR 4.137273
RON 5.055363
RSD 117.236227
RUB 90.212487
RWF 1626.025063
SAR 4.264572
SBD 9.494884
SCR 16.278253
SDG 682.773626
SEK 10.833651
SGD 1.460716
SHP 0.893509
SLE 25.832749
SLL 23842.476427
SOS 648.689787
SRD 42.271092
STD 23533.757087
SVC 9.932375
SYP 14783.13538
SZL 20.312812
THB 36.956153
TJS 11.63491
TMT 3.985211
TND 3.39297
TOP 2.662991
TRY 44.33509
TTD 7.716068
TWD 34.07872
TZS 3061.92381
UAH 47.117922
UGX 4143.573525
USD 1.137007
UYU 47.156527
UZS 14648.027478
VES 107.841199
VND 29509.889453
VUV 137.399516
WST 3.058106
XAF 656.047806
XAG 0.033953
XAU 0.000339
XCD 3.072819
XDR 0.815913
XOF 656.047806
XPF 119.331742
YER 277.258943
ZAR 20.275514
ZMK 10234.433363
ZMW 31.045297
ZWL 366.115911
  • CMSD

    0.1600

    21.89

    +0.73%

  • SCS

    -0.0600

    10.09

    -0.59%

  • RELX

    0.4600

    55.44

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    0.4600

    70.41

    +0.65%

  • GSK

    -0.2600

    38.66

    -0.67%

  • RBGPF

    65.0500

    65.05

    +100%

  • NGG

    1.1600

    74.79

    +1.55%

  • CMSC

    -0.0200

    21.94

    -0.09%

  • RIO

    0.4600

    61.58

    +0.75%

  • BCC

    -0.7700

    86.56

    -0.89%

  • BTI

    0.6200

    45.22

    +1.37%

  • JRI

    0.0500

    12.69

    +0.39%

  • BCE

    0.0600

    21.53

    +0.28%

  • VOD

    -0.0700

    10.47

    -0.67%

  • RYCEF

    0.1200

    11.32

    +1.06%

  • BP

    0.1500

    29.09

    +0.52%

Norris savours 'dream' Monaco maiden win to close gap on Piastri
Norris savours 'dream' Monaco maiden win to close gap on Piastri / Photo: Gabriel BOUYS - AFP

Norris savours 'dream' Monaco maiden win to close gap on Piastri

Lando Norris beamed with satisfaction on Sunday after he trimmed McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri's lead in the drivers' world championship to three points with a controlled maiden triumph at a chaotic and tactical Monaco Grand Prix.

Text size:

In a race heavily influenced by the introduction of a mandatory requirement for two pit stops by each driver, Norris managed to focus on his task and turn his 11th pole position into the sixth win of his career.

"It feels amazing," he said.

Norris resisted intense pressure to claim his deserved victory, his first since Australia's season-opening race, to finish 3.131 seconds ahead of Ferrari's local hero Leclerc with championship leading McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri third. Max Verstappen finished fourth.

"It's a long, gruelling race, but good fun. We could push for quite a lot of the race, but in the last quarter, I was nervous with Charles behind and Max ahead," said Norris.

"But we won in Monaco and it doesn't matter how you win. For me, an amazing weekend. This is what I dreamed of when I was a kid, so I achieved one of my dreams."

After eight of this year's 24 races, Piastri has 161 points, Norris 158 and Verstappen 136. Mercedes' George Russell is fourth on 99 after finishing 11th. In the teams' competition, McLaren lead with 319 ahead of Mercedes on 147, Red Bull on 143 and Ferrari on 142.

Norris became the first McLaren winner in Monaco since Hamilton, in his first title-winning season of 2008.

"At the end of the day, we lost this race yesterday," said Leclerc, ruing allowing Norris to snatch pole.

- Gamesmanship -

"We should have done a better job. Lando did a better job and deserved to win. I achieved my childhood dream last year, but not this time.

"I did not expect this really and it has been a good weekend overall, but I wish I had won!"

Piastri admitted he had survived a tricky weekend.

"Overall, I am happy with another podium. The margins are so fine and if this is a bad weekend, it's not going too badly."

Amid widespread 'gamesmanship' as teams asked one driver to slow and hold up the traffic to create a pit-stop window for the other, the race featured much cosmetic incident, but it was very different from the oft-processional events of previous years.

"It's not the way we want to go racing," admitted Williams team boss James Vowles who had instructed Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon to dawdle deliberately on their way to top 10 finishes as did the RB pair French rookie Isack Hadjar, who came home sixth, and Liam Lawson, eight.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was fifth in the second Ferrari after starting seventh.

As a result of Albon's slow pace, both Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli felt forced to cut the chicane to avoid a collision. Russell declined to give the place back and was hit with a drive-through penalty.

"That's Monaco and it's how the game goes," said Russell.

"The only way to score points. You are damned if you are and damned if you don't. It's a bit of a flawed system."

An unimpressed Verstappen, who pitted from the lead for his second stop ahead of the final lap, said: "You can't race here anyway so it doesn't matter what you do – one stop or 10 stops. I was in the lead and my tyres were completely gone and you still can't pass!

"I had nothing to lose staying out.

"A big gap behind and I think I could have done four stops and still been in the same position. That's Monaco for you. Qualifying is really important. In the end, P4 was the maximum we could do."

Asked for their views on the mandatory two-stop rule, both Williams drivers said they disliked feeling their racing had been manipulated while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff shook his head, saying: "I dont like it".

S.Janousek--TPP