With Piastri beginning to stretch out a championship lead thanks to four wins in seven races, the Monte Carlo weekend was a crucial one for Norris, who has spoken openly in recent years about struggling to be at his best on and off the track.
At a circuit where drivers can make the difference, Norris delivered one of the finest Qualifying laps of his career – the only person inside the 1m 09s bracket – to grab a first pole since that Melbourne opener and hit back at a growing number of critics.
Then, in a gripping Grand Prix, he dealt with Virtual Safety Cars, phases of traffic and the two pit stop rule to convert that pole into victory, underlining his weekend dominance and slashing Piastri’s championship advantage.
With Piastri, Norris and Verstappen covered by just 25 points in the Drivers’ Championship standings, it’s very much game on heading to Spain…
READ MORE: ‘I achieved one of my dreams’ – Proud Norris basks in ‘amazing’ maiden Monaco GP victory
How did the two-stop rule play out?
F1 and tyre suppliers Pirelli tried something new in Monaco, with the aforementioned two pit stop rule being introduced in a bid to add some excitement to a race that takes place on tight, twisty streets and thus offers few overtaking opportunities.
Under F1’s usual rules, the only tyre-related requirement during a dry-weather race is for drivers to use at least two different slick compounds, which can be achieved via a one-stop strategy, but Sunday’s race forced drivers to use at least three different sets of tyres.
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