ANALYSIS: Norris took risk at Monaco to secure his fifth fastest lap of the season

Following his struggles in recent qualifying sessions, McLaren driver Lando Norris won last Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, crowned his stunning performance with fastest lap on the very last lap of the 78-lap Monte Carlo race.

The last few weeks and months have not been easy for McLaren driver Lando Norris. After starting the season with a win in Australia, things had stopped going his way, especially in qualifying. But McLaren’s man finally hit back in Monaco and crowned a stunning performance with the DHL Fastest Lap towards the end.

Norris had finally made his big breakthrough on Saturday. The Briton set the benchmark in the middle part of qualifying before posting a track record in Q3 en route to a brilliant pole position in the Principality.

“Today was probably the first time since Australia that I’ve really put it all together. So it’s not like I’m driving quicker, it’s I’m driving in a better way, in a smarter way,” said Norris after qualifying.

Despite the introduction of a mandatory two-stop strategy for this year’s Monaco Grand Prix, Lando Norris controlled proceedings in the 78-lap race to snatch his first victory in the Principality from home favourite Charles Leclerc.

Reflecting on his tense race in Monaco, Norris said after the race: “Especially at the end with Max ahead, there were some tense moments trying not to get too close to Max, otherwise that’s when Charles had opportunities.”

“In the end, the result was the perfect one. Tricky at times, with the amount of cars, there were big bunches of cars, so getting through them without making mistakes, without any silly things happening was always the most nerve-wracking bit.

“Otherwise, I felt good. I felt good with the tires, with the management of tires and stints and all of those things,” the Briton added.

After Verstappen dived into the pits for his second mandatory stop on Lap 77, Norris did not slow down to secure his maiden triumph at Monte Carlo, but he took risks and burned the fastest lap into the asphalt with a time of 1:13.221.

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