McLaren’s Lando Norris has admitted that he expects McLaren to face a ‘tricky’ weekend at 2021 Monaco Grand Prix.
Norris currently lies fourth in the standings after enjoying what he has described as “… a strong start to the season for me personally, but also for the team.”
The Brit however is cautious about what fans can expect this weekend as F1 returns to Monaco for the first time since 2019, having cancelled the race last season due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
With Qualifying likely to play a crucial part in how the race unfolds, Norris knows that “… Monaco is going to be a tricky weekend, with so much riding on qualifying, but we’ll be giving it our all to start the weekend well on Thursday and score some decent points come Sunday.”
Daniel Ricciardo is looking forward to returning to the streets of Monaco where he won in 2018 for Red Bull, having previously claimed two third-placed finishes and a second-placed result.
Confessing that Monaco is his “favourite circuit” on the current F1 calendar, Ricciardo spoke of having “missed” racing around the Principality in 2020 and feels “incredibly lucky” to race at F1’s most prestigious Grand Prix.
Ricciardo also feels that his sixth-placed finish in Barcelona was the culmination of “… a lot of progress over the last few races, and I think that really showed in Spain.”
The Aussie however is anticipating a tough weekend for McLaren in Monaco and feels that “… we’ll have our work cut out for us in Monaco, given how important qualifying is and how close we are to the competition, but we’ll give it our all…”
McLaren Team Principal, Andreas Seidl meanwhile has confirmed that the team will continue trying “to take every opportunity to score good points…” although their main focus will be “… on our performance and operational execution.”
This weekend will also see McLaren sport an one-off retro livery across their car and overalls in celebration of their partnership with Gulf Oil International, dating back to 1968.
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