DRIVERS
 
1 – Lando NORRIS (McLaren)
2 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari) 
3 – Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren)
 
PARC FERMÉ INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Jolyon Palmer)
 
Q: Oscar, it was an amazing lap, an amazing session, but you've just come up short in third position. How was it from the cockpit?
Oscar PIASTRI: Intense as it always is around here. Quite reminiscent of last year, to be honest. My first lap felt good, and then the second lap, a mistake in the Harbour chicane, and yeah, left a little bit on there. I think to beat Lando today was going to be tough. So well done to him. But no, still pretty happy with it. It's been a pretty messy weekend so far, so to come out with a lap that I thought was pretty good and third is a decent result.
 
Q: You say messy. We've enjoyed you getting really friendly with the barriers the whole way through, including a big tap in Q2 as well in the Rascasse. Looks like it's just been difficult to find the grip and find the lap together for you overall.
OP: Yeah, exactly. I mean, I think I've hit more walls this weekend than I have in my whole career, so it's been untidy. But yeah, just been struggling to get into the groove a bit. I think in qualifying I was much happier with things, and I felt pretty good. But yeah, we've been doing some digging this weekend, and to come out with this result is a decent effort.
 
Q: Yeah, a great effort. And tomorrow, it's a two-stop race. You've got two McLarens in the top three. Have you been thinking about that already or focusing on qualifying?
OP: We have thought about it, but a lot depends on where you qualify. So, we're in good positions, obviously. But yeah, it's still gonna be an exciting race tomorrow with the two stops. So, let's see what happens.
 
Q: Alright. Well done, Oscar. Good luck tomorrow.
OP: Thank you.
 
Q: Charles, Monaco master. You had a bigger cheer than that when you came across the line and had provisional pole position, but in the end, it's just second place. Was there anything more in there for you, or did you give it everything?
Charles LECLERC: Well, there's always something more to be done. No, I mean, at the end of the day, this was the best we could do. I think the lap was really good. The first lap was a little bit of a shame because that gives you a bit more confidence for the second run when you have a first good lap. I couldn't have that. I had to deal with traffic, but it's the way it is. Just obviously very frustrated. We know that we don't quite have the car to go for wins this year, but this weekend the car felt good. And starting second here is going to be tricky to then take that first place.
 
Q: I mean, you're still on the front row. You'll still have a clear view to the first corner, but what is it about this track that just suits you? Because watching your laps through practice and through qualifying, you've been lighting up the timing screens. I know you haven't quite got pole, but it's been a pleasure to watch. And you really do seem to have something with your history here as well.
CL: Yeah. I don't know. I like city tracks in general. I like to really go all in into qualifying and take maximum risks, and I think this, most of the time, pays off. Sometimes it doesn't pay off, but yeah, I'm proud anyway of the result we've had today, as on paper it was going to be a very difficult weekend for us. At the end of the day, it's not that bad.
 
Q: Well done. You've still got a Ferrari onto the front row, you've kept a lot of fans very happy here, and hopefully you can give us a great race tomorrow.
CL: Thank you. Thank you very much.
 
Q: Lando, that was an amazing qualifying session. Two laps that were pole. One was taken away and then you did it again right at the death.
Lando NORRIS: Taken away? What?
 
Q: Only provisionally by Charles.
LN: Oh, yeah.
 
Q: You got it back. Don't worry about it. But you kept everyone on their toes. And in the end, first pole since Melbourne. What a place to do it.
LN: Yeah. It's been a long time coming, you know. So, I feel good. I don't think you realise how good this feels, you know, for quite a few struggles over the last couple months. Especially here in Monaco, it's a beautiful place. The hardest track probably to do it, up against the hometown hero as well. So, I'm very proud of the whole team. We've worked a lot this week—well, actually over the last few months—to get to a day like today. So, very pleased.
 
Q: And the run plan was different for McLaren than it was for anyone else. Two flying laps at the end. Feels like a little bit of a risk, but it obviously paid off.
LN: No risk from our side. It's what we believed was best before quali, and it's what was proven to be best after. So no, we stuck to what we believed in. Like I said, the team have done an amazing job. So thanks to everyone here, everyone back in the factory, because these days don't come easy. And of course, proud to give something back to them.
 
Q: And how has it been, the focus for you today? Because I saw your first flying lap in practice and you looked on it from the word go today. The mentality, the difficulty of driving around this circuit, 19 corners, putting them all together and getting pole—how do you keep the focus?
LN: That's the tricky part, you know. Trying to consistently find lap time because it's what the others are going be doing, improving more and more, and you’ve got to take a similar amount of risk. But I mean, when you get to Q3, the final lap is just about who can—in a sense—who can risk a little bit more and who can commit a little bit more. But it was a nice lap. It was a well put together lap, and it feels very good when you cross the line, and you know it's all paid off, so I'm very happy.
 
Q: It was brilliant. You have got a two-stop race tomorrow, so you know that's going come in, it’s the mandated new rule. How does that change things? Do you think you're going to have to push from the word go?
LN: Honestly, I have absolutely no idea. And at the minute, I don't care. I'm going to enjoy today. I've worked hard for today. Yeah, that's what tonight's for—to prepare for tomorrow. But I'm just very pleased with today. I'm happy with quali. I'm going to live the moment for a little bit and then I'll focus on tomorrow.
 
PRESS CONFERENCE 
 
Q: Very well done to you, Lando. What a qualifying session for you. A new lap record as well. What does this one mean?
LN: Means a lot. Not just because it's been a while since I've been here, but just because of how things have been, how things have gone over the last couple of months, in qualifying. So, to come here with a fresh mindset and plenty more opportunities – and in Monaco, you know, it's just a cooler, more special place to do it. A harder place, because it's more difficult as a lap, more exciting, more pressure, but the most relief at the same time when you do a good job. And today was that day. So, it means a lot to me, to my whole team, because we've been working a lot for another moment like this.
 
Q: Charles has been very quick all weekend. Just how much confidence did you have coming into the session?
LN: A reasonable amount. I mean, never going to be full of it when you know Charles has been quickest in every session, but I think we were always there or thereabouts. I always knew that I could push a little bit more in a few places and gain some lap time, but I definitely think going into qualifying, I started to just unlock more and more, and I was gaining more confidence through quali. And that's exactly what you want around here – improved confidence through the session. Especially in Q3, when I've just done two strong laps. Obviously, a good banker, which just gives you that reassurance that you can then go a little bit more the next time around. But it's not just these two – it's Charles, Oscar, Max has been fast, Lewis has been quick. So, yeah, it's a good grid. It's a good competition from everyone, so it always makes it a little bit better.
 
Q: And Lando, tell us about the different run plan for both McLaren drivers in Q3. Was it all about getting a clear first lap, or having the ability to do a second lap if you needed it?
LN: I don't really know, to be honest. I mean, you always want laps. We knew that it was hard to get a lap time out on the first attempt. In pretty much every session, people were improving and improving. So, we knew it would change into qualifying, but I think we stuck to our plan, which was to do one lap, then box and do another two. It's what we thought was right and clearly what was right. So, happy with what we chose to do.
 
Q: Mandatory two stops tomorrow. Just in percentage terms, how much of the job do you feel you've got done already?
LN: I have no idea. Four? It's impossible to put a number on it, especially here and more so probably in the past than going into a new-rule race tomorrow. I would have felt like a higher number if it was last year's rules, but obviously this year, things have changed. Again, my only focus until this point has been qualifying. So, I’ve not thought about the race. I don’t need to until later with the team. For now, I'm enjoying the moment of the laps that I did.
 
Q: Charles, let’s come to you now. Great session by you as well. Just how good was that final lap of Q3?
CL: Well, it was a good lap, but it was a bit of a tricky Q3. In the first run of Q3, I had Max in the second sector and lost a lot of lap time there. So, obviously, when you don’t have that first time in Q3, then you have a little bit less confidence to go flat out on the second run. I don’t think this made the difference at the end of the day. I haven’t seen exactly the gaps, but I think it’s bigger than a few hundredths. So, yeah, it is the way it is. I’m obviously disappointed—being at home and being on top of every free practice session was a good sign. But I kind of felt it already in FP3 where I knew that I was putting laps very much on the limit. And when you look at the onboard, you can see drivers that are taking a bit of a step back. So I knew it would be close, but at the end of the day, I didn’t get it this year.
 
Q: Charles, you say you’re disappointed, but are you also satisfied? Because you were talking down your chances coming into the weekend and yet Ferrari have been there or thereabouts.
CL: No. I’m not satisfied, because you forget very quickly with the expectations that you have going into a weekend when free practices are going so well. I think we were wrong with the expectations that we had. And at the end of the day, it was a lot more positive than what we initially thought. We still need to understand why, to be completely honest. For me, it’s an unknown. I don’t quite know why we are so fast in slow speed suddenly, but we’ll analyse that after the weekend. But no, disappointment is big.
 
Q: Just throwing it forward to tomorrow, those two stops—do you think it gives you more opportunity than it otherwise might have done?
CL: I think it’s going to be a bit of chaos tomorrow, but we’ll see how it plays out. I think there’ll be a lot of strategy games, and we’ll see who comes out on top. But I think we might be under pressure from cars that we probably don’t expect, from the back, which might make everything interesting. We’ll see.
 
Q: Oscar, let’s come to you now. Very well done to you as well. The margins were small. Was the car where you needed it in that final run of Q3?
OP: I think so, yes. It’s been a pretty challenging time until Q3, to be honest. But I feel like we got the car in a much better window for qualifying and I was much happier. But it’s just been a very messy weekend. I said before, I think I’ve hit more things this weekend than I have in my whole career. So, it’s not been that straightforward, but I think to come out with this result is quite positive. The laps I did at the end of qualifying felt pretty good. Obviously not quite enough, but yeah. I think at a track like this when you’ve had a messy build-up, you’re always going to leave a little bit on the table.
 
Q: What have been the issues? Why has it been so difficult to dial in the car here?
OP: Just struggling with the balance really. Struggling with confidence in the car, I think. It’s in a much better place now than it was yesterday for sure, so I don’t think that was necessarily the problem at this point. But yeah, I’ve just been struggling to repeat the feeling I had last year through practice really. But I think the team did a good job of trying to put the car in a better window, and I think we definitely did that by qualifying. But, yeah, definitely some laps I would rather have done again through the weekend.
 
Q: Okay. And do you agree with Charles that there might be a bit of chaos tomorrow in the race?
OP: I don’t think anyone really knows what to expect. So probably, yes.
 
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
 
Q: (John Noble – The Race) To Lando, congratulations. You've had a fair few qualifying struggles and difficulties on Saturdays this year. The team's been working on changes to make you more comfortable. What's made the difference this weekend? Have you unlocked something in the set-up? Is it a different way of working with the team? Has something changed on the car that's improved things?
LN: There's probably a small mix of both of these. Things from the car, just it being Monaco and a very different layout, a very different kind of style of driving that's needed here. It's a lot more risk, commitment, rather than just absolute car balance, in a way. And also, things that I've been working on to improve, to do a better job. Again, never because I've not had the pace—just more that I’ve never put it together come Q3. 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. But there's been a lot of work that’s gone on. So even if I was pole at any other track, I think it probably would have been the pole that’s meant the most to me. It probably means even more that it's in Monaco, but more because of what's happened over the last couple of months. May not seem like a lot, but for me, it’s quite a big thing. So, yep. Like I said, a very, very good moment.
 
Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com). Question for you, Charles. Tom touched on the run plan in Q3 earlier with Lando. You had a different one to the McLarens. Do you think it was the right decision to go just for one lap?
CL: I mean, we’ll never know. I don’t know. I don’t know if Oscar improved as well on the second timed lap. But anyway, again, the gap was a bit more than a few hundredths. It was just over a tenth. You can’t point the finger on many things because it's not a huge gap either. So yeah, I honestly don’t know. I thought the tyres felt pretty good on that first timed lap. But then when you do that one lap, then you push a little bit more on the second one, and you see that the limit is a little bit further away. But the actual answer is that I don’t know.
 
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) One for Charles and one for Lando. Charles, you were so down at the beginning of the weekend. How do you explain how you've been so quick and now splitting the McLarens? Lando, to follow on from John's question, do you feel that you’ve made a particular step forward this weekend? And what sort of satisfaction does it give you after what you described as a difficult period earlier?
CL: I think the only explanation I can find for now is that on a track like this, where there’s only low speed – basically no high-speed corners – in most of the tracks, we had to take compromises in order to not lose too much in high-speed corners. We don’t have to set up the car in a way where we compromise anything here because we just focus on the low speed. And when we are on these kinds of tracks, it seems that there’s some performance in the low speed from the car. But we are a little bit stuck at the moment on other tracks, so I don’t think we can apply it to any other tracks other than Monaco, unfortunately.
LN: Can you repeat the question, please?
 
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) do you feel you've made a breakthrough after what you described as a difficult period? And what kind of level of satisfaction does this give you beyond just a pole at Monaco, which is obviously high satisfaction in itself?
LN: Sure. I think to classify it as a breakthrough, you also need consistency of results. So I can look at it both ways. I can see, easily, the positive – it’s a breakthrough in that I had a good Saturday. And for me, that’s at least a step in the right direction, which I’m very, very happy about. But it's still one weekend. And like I said, consistency is a big part of it too. I’ll be happier if I know and I can get to that point where I’m confident into every session that I can perform like I did today because I think my performance was at a very, very strong level. So if we go into Barcelona, Canada, and the next few tracks and I can consistently perform at this level, then that’s our goal. That’s my goal – I say “our goal” because it's me and my team. But certainly, today was a step in the right direction. And whether that’s a small step or a big step, it’s a step. And that's all I need for now.
 
Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Lando, in your answer to Tom, you referenced the fresh mindset you’ve been taking into this weekend. Is that something particular for here? Is it something you've been working on? And how important has that mental side been in recent weeks to try and make this step forward?
LN: I mean, every weekend is a fresh mindset. It’s a new weekend, a new opportunity to learn things, to try things, to practise – whatever it is. So, I think every weekend at the minute, I’m doing better at that: knowing there’s a new day, full of opportunities. That’s the main thing. I came in, and I’ve been working very hard with my team away from the track, and here at the track, to work on as many areas as possible. I know that sometimes I always want immediate results, as I’m sure a lot of people do. But sometimes it takes time, and it has taken time. So to know that some of those things have paid off and it’s heading in the right direction, like I said, is very good to know. A lot of work from a lot of people around me, so I have to thank them as well.
 
Q: (Lawrence Edmondson – ESPN) Another question for Lando. Given the struggles you’ve had in those races quite recently and the Saudi crash and stuff like that, did you ever doubt yourself? Did you ever wonder whether this qualifying would happen? Because you've often said that you always had confidence underlying the performances.
LN: No. I don’t think I’ve ever doubted what I can do. Of course, I’ve got frustrated. I’ve been unhappy because that’s normal. If you don’t win, if you don’t get pole, you’re not going to be happy, especially when it's where you should be. It’s what the objective is. So, of course, I’ve had those moments. But I’ve still never, certainly not this year, doubted what I’m capable of doing. And having a day like today certainly backs all of that up. So I’m happy with that.
 
Q: (Carlo Platella – Formula Passion.it) Question for the McLaren drivers. Where did you feel the biggest improvements on the car overnight?
LN: From when? Since yesterday? Oh, I don’t know. Little bits. You rarely make changes that are going to be tenths of a second or quarter of a second. You move things in a direction slowly. You make small steps with maybe several different things. But clearly, just the track improves a lot from yesterday. The lap times you're doing today—the grip is getting higher and higher. Even through qualifying, the grip gets higher and higher. So, no matter what you have in FP3 compared to FP2, what you have then in qualifying is different again. So, it's a lot of just adapting to whatever situation – the weather, the temperature, the grip. But there's always things that we’re balancing on the car, to try and improve. I feel like we made some good steps, but it’s hard to know how much of that you can put down to the performance today. But it's clear we've been quick all weekend. The team have done an amazing job to perform again on a track that in the past has not been great for us. But over the last year and this year, it's nice to see that we can be the best.
OP: I think just gaining confidence in the car from yesterday has been a good step forward today. I think naturally when the grip comes up, you take more fuel out, you enter qualifying, everything starts to naturally feel a little bit better as well. The team did a good job. We certainly didn’t go into qualifying with a lack of trying. So, yeah, I think we did a good job of trying to get in a better window.
 
Q: (Fred Ferret – L’Equipe) With the two mandatory pit stops, it may be a team play. Would you be ready to sacrifice yourself to help your teammate to win?
OP: How much are you going to pay me?
LN: Charles just told me he would help Lewis get the win.
OP: I mean, I want to win the race too. So let’s see what happens. I think it’s going to be a pretty chaotic race, but we’ll see what happens.
 
Q: (Rodrigo França – Car Magazine Brazil) Question to the three drivers. Normally in Monaco, the fans expect the start and the first turn to be really exciting because it’s the best chance to overtake. But with the two mandatory stops, do you think this is less important or will it be as exciting as in previous years?
OP: I think it’ll be just as important. It’s just that instead of kind of having one pit stop where you need to manipulate things around, there’s two. And you have to use three sets of tyres. I mean, the cars aren’t smaller, so the overtaking is still not going to be very high, I don’t think. But there will be a lot more uncertainty with strategy.
LN: Sadly, I think there’ll be more opportunity for everyone. But that’s the way it is. That’s what Formula 1 has done to just try and put on more of a show. Of course, in my position now, I probably don’t agree with what’s been done. But I’m not the one who makes the rules. So, we’ll see. I think there is more opportunity for everyone, whether you are starting on pole or if you’re starting last, you can be more optimistic, which is great for you guys. Not so good for me. So, let's wait and see.
CL: Yeah, as I was saying earlier, I think it’s very difficult also to know what to expect. I think we all go a little bit into the unknown. More stops means more opportunities. I don’t think it will change what happens in Turn 1, Lap 1. I think that’s going to be very similar to any other year because it’s going to be just as significant. But then we’ll have to see with the pit stops. I don’t think there’s going to be anything surprising in the top positions. I think there’s going to be some things that are probably going to be surprising in the back, and that could affect the top positions. So yeah, I don’t know. It’s going to be interesting. We’ll see.
 
Q: (Giuseppe Marino – Motorionline.com) I think that for you and Ferrari it's a positive weekend so far. Did you expect this performance by the car?
CL: No, we did not. We expected to struggle a lot, which wasn’t the case because from FP1, it felt really, really good. The car felt good. I felt confident with the car straight away, and we’ve got to understand that… How we can reproduce that on all the tracks. Like if we take Miami, which was two race weekends ago, we were losing so much in the low-speed corners, and now we are very fast this weekend. So, obviously, there are other things that are also changing. The ride is not great here, and we know we’ve got a pretty good car in terms of ride. But I feel like there might be something else to be understood.
 
Q: (Sam Shephard – Autosport) Question for Lando. You spoke recently about coming off social media, taking a break from it. I’m curious whether you feel like that’s had an impact on your improved performance and if you could speak on that and how it’s impacted you in the last few weeks.
LN: I mean, impossible to say how much. But I enjoy… I still have my accounts, I still have social media, still do posts and that stuff. I still have it to text my friends and keep in contact with people, and that’s it. I’m very, very happy because I feel like it’s a waste of my life. I have better things to focus on. I have had many things to focus on and try to improve on. There’s many, many factors that add up to a day like today. I can certainly say that’s one of them. So, I’m happy. Everyone can do their own thing, but for me, I’m happy to stay away from that.
 
Q: (Andre Noviello – La Principauté) Question for Charles. Some years ago, in 1991 to be precise, there was also a Ferrari P2 with two McLarens around him—and at the end, Ferrari won on Sunday. How optimistic are you to repeat this kind of scenario and jump Lando to move on the start?
CL: Let’s go, baby… That gives me a lot of confidence now. I don’t know. I mean, it was quite a few years ago. I think probably driving was – I mean, overtaking was probably a little bit easier than today. I don’t really believe that even if starting positions are the same, that things just happen again. So, yeah, let’s say it’s not adding a lot of confidence to me. But it’s OK. We’ll approach tomorrow and try to do the best job we can, and then we’ll see where we end up. As I said, it’s a much more positive weekend than what we initially thought. And it’s important, even though we are disappointed today, that we take the maximum points available tomorrow without trying the miracle, to try everything for the win. We also need to be realistic. We are in a difficult situation now and every point counts. So we’ll try to do the maximum to get it. If it’s not possible, it’s not possible.
 
ENDS