Lando Norris secured eighth place in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, with his teammate Oscar Piastri joining him on the fourth row for the race starting Sunday in Monte Carlo [1, 2].
McLaren has struggled throughout the weekend, including during its landmark 1,000th Grand Prix. Norris highlighted the team's difficulties, saying, "We've been on the back foot all weekend and qualifying showed that" [1]. An electrical problem during Friday's second practice session disrupted preparations, but the team fixed it late that night [1, 2].
In Saturday's final practice session, Norris was ninth fastest, trailing over a second behind Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli [1, 2]. Norris believes his qualifying pace could have been better if he had not locked up his brakes on his final flying lap [1, 2].
"Tomorrow we'll be aggressive on strategy and ready to take chances with safety cars or anything that comes our way, but overtaking is tough here, so we have to be realistic," Norris said [1]. He pointed out that podium chances are slim given the circuit's difficulty for passes and emphasized the focus on improving rear stability and downforce to help performance on similar tracks [1].
Piastri echoed the concerns about lack of speed despite progress since Friday, saying, "While we've made some progress since Friday and improved the balance of the car, we're still lacking the speed. Looking ahead to the race, we have to be realistic. This circuit is notoriously difficult for overtaking, and we don't expect that to change" [1].
The team aims to use strategy to maximize results on race day, which is scheduled for Sunday, June 7 [1, 2]. McLaren’s weekend at Monaco has been marked by technical issues and a struggle to keep pace with the frontrunners, leaving the drivers to seek opportunities amid challenging conditions.