Lando Norris was “happy” to attain two factors with ninth place within the Monaco Grand Prix, however was in any other case sad together with his race.

The McLaren driver carried out properly in follow, inserting seventh, fifth and fifth once more over the three classes.

However he fared much less properly in qualifying and the race. Norris got here eighth in Q1 and tenth within the subsequent two segments of qualifying, hitting the wall twice in Q2 and being held up by Leclerc in Q3.

He held tenth within the race for 49 laps earlier than pitting to interchange his medium compound tyres for hards. 4 laps later he was within the pits once more, this time following the remainder of the sphere in switching to intermediate tyres attributable to rain, and emerged a lapped eleventh.

He overtook staff mate Oscar Piastri to return to tenth, then profited from a brake glazing downside for AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda – who he ran behind within the first stint of the race – to maneuver as much as ninth.

Afterwards Norris stated there was “not so much” of the race to be grateful for. “The tempo within the dry was fairly dangerous,” he stated to media together with RaceFans. “We have been fairly sluggish. A great distance off the tempo of the AlphaTauri.

“We did the additional pit cease within the center, which additionally was most likely simply one thing we have to evaluate. I clearly went with the data I used to be given, however possibly I ought to have questioned a bit extra if we should always have waited one or two extra laps, after which seen how moist it obtained earlier than going onto the onerous tyre or going onto the intermediates.”

Norris’ tempo on the intermediates was sturdy and he believes he missed out on a a lot better end due to the time spent making an additional pit cease.

Ballot: Vote to your 2023 Monaco Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend“We possibly misplaced 30 seconds or one thing from this. That was a simple two, three positions on the finish of the race as a result of the tempo on the intermediate was the quickest on monitor by fairly a great distance. Some good factors, however the tempo within the moist doesn’t matter, truthfully. Just a bit ego increase, I assume.”

“We shouldn’t have boxed” the primary time, Norris concluded. Nevertheless he admitted Tsunoda was faster than him in the course of the race.

“If I simply take a look at right this moment, the AlphaTauri was so much faster. With how a lot faster he was right this moment, they need to have been faster than us yesterday. I don’t imagine that we had a faster automotive yesterday and never right this moment,” stated Norris.

“So blended emotions I assume. There’s 5, six groups who’re so much faster than us – not [all] so much, AlphaTauri could also be somewhat bit extra on par with us and somewhat bit faster this weekend, however you’ve gotten Alpine who have been significantly forward of the place we have been. I don’t know.

“I wouldn’t say any massive positives, I wouldn’t say the automotive was mega. I believe we simply did a superb job of getting in control. Everybody takes a very long time to rise up to tempo and that’s why we appeared superb in FP1, FP2. However the additional into the weekend we obtained, the more serious we obtained. And that’s why we ended up the place we did.”

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