Lando Norris has said his pole lap at the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix made him “cry” as he called it a “pivotal” moment of his maiden Formula 1 title-winning season.
Norris bagged his maiden F1 title at the Yas Marina Circuit by just two points over defending champion Max Verstappen.
The Briton, who had struggled for form in the middle part of the 2025 campaign, secured two crucial victories at Mexico and Sao Paulo as he jumped team-mate Oscar Piastri.
That said, his pole lap during qualifying on the streets of the Principality stands out for him over these race wins.
“The lap I did in Monaco in qualifying was the only other time, probably in the last 10 years, that I cried a little bit over something,” he told BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast. “Because there I proved myself wrong.”
Norris, strapped into his dominant MCL39, smashed the outright lap record at Monaco with a blistering 1.09.954 lap. Admitting to struggling with single-lap pace throughout the season, the Briton said Monaco was pure vindication.
“There was not one other moment this season that I proved myself wrong. Because I had that bad run of results, I just couldn’t perform in qualifying,” he added.
“Qualifying has always been my strong suit, my best… It’s been my strength since I was in karting — all my qualifying results are my thing, and they weren’t at the beginning of the season.
“So when I went to the hardest track to a qualifying lap on, I turned off my delta for the first time that weekend, so I couldn’t see if I was on a better lap, worse lap, whatever it was, [and] it’s not been my best track in the past.
“For me to then go there and put that lap I put in at the end of qualifying was one of the best moments of my career, in a way, because it was the time I almost doubted myself the most, ever, in the most important season that it turned out to be, so.”
Why Monaco pole was ‘pivotal’ to Norris’ F1 title credentials
Norris has publicly struggled with his mental health. Confidence, for him, has been an area of his race craft he has always found himself lacking in. Hence, his performance at Monaco was “pivotal” for him to start believing in his own title credentials.
“That one lap, one minute [and] nine seconds was all it needed for me to flip everything and turn that thought of: ‘I just don’t know if I’ve got this’ to ‘I can definitely do this'”, he said.
“And that was a pivotal moment for me up here [in his head].”
The McLaren driver even quipped that, next time, he wants to wrap up the title earlier to avoid the intense pressure of sustaining a title bid until the final race.
But having said that, he recognised how his battles with Piastri and Verstappen served up a classic season of F1 racing for the fans – a perfect curtain call for the ground effects era of F1.
“I would have loved to have made my life a bit easier and just won it earlier next time,” Norris asserted.
“But it’s always more exciting when it goes down to the final race, final few laps. It’s more exciting for everyone.
“But I won ones [races this season] that people have dreamt of winning, like they’re some of the most incredible ones.”
READ MORE – Why George Russell is not ‘envious’ of Lando Norris’ F1 success
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