David Coulthard lauds ‘class’ unnoticed Lando Norris moment after storming to victory at the Monaco Grand Prix

McLaren driver Lando Norris dispelled any suggestions that his teammate Oscar Piastri is going to run away with the drivers’ championship during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

After Oscar Piastri won a hat-trick of races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Miami, he had managed to open up a 16-point lead over Lando Norris.

However, the McLaren star got the better of his Australian teammate at Imola thanks to a more effective race strategy before producing a perfect weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc topped every practice session in the build-up to qualifying, but Norris set an incredible lap record to stop the Monegasque driver recording back-to-back pole positions at his home race.

Norris’ life was made difficult by Max Verstappen in the closing stages on the streets of Monte Carlo.

The Dutchman delayed his final mandatory pit stop until the last moment, hoping to benefit from a red flag to steal victory from his McLaren rival.

That didn’t end up happening, and at the end of the race, David Coulthard and Jolyon Palmer noticed one ‘class’ moment from the 25-year-old that didn’t get as much credit as it deserved.

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David Coulthard loved ‘class’ fastest lap from Lando Norris at the Monaco Grand Prix

Palmer was speaking to Coulthard on Channel 4’s commentary of the race in the Principality and after Norris had taken the chequered flag, he said: “He did have to work it, and he popped in the fastest lap of the race on the final lap as well to show how good he’s been this weekend.

“Pole yesterday was really a lot of the magic, and then having to absorb the pressure there was obviously not easy.”

Coulthard replied: “That dream [of winning in Monaco] has become a reality and actually, just picking up on what you said Jolyon, that fastest lap at the end, that’s class, that’s class.

“It showed that when I was thinking, is he under pressure, is he vulnerable, will he make a mistake? No, never doubt Lando at the front of a race.”

Palmer concluded: “It’s so unnecessary to do that as well! To go back up to the walls and flaunt it on the final lap.

“It shows the confidence actually. You can hear it when he said, ‘Can Oscar please close up, I want Charles to be distracted,’ and then he unleashed that on the final tour.”

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Lando Norris put F1 championship rivals on red alert with Monaco Grand Prix win

Norris has been very self-critical of his performances ever since reaching Formula 1.

McLaren have now given him and Piastri a car capable of winning races and championships, and he’s quickly learning that he needs to be perfect if he’s going to defeat his teammate and Verstappen this year.

Palmer thinks Norris sent a message to his rivals in Monaco by nailing his qualifying lap and coping with the pressure put on him during the final laps of the race.

Norris was pushing harder at the front of the race than many fans will realise given that the majority of people’s focus was on what was happening in the fight for the final points-paying positions.

Jacques Villeneuve was impressed with Norris’ performance in Monaco and in particular how he overcame the pressure of setting his best time in qualifying when too often this season he’s failed to hook up his final lap in Q3.

That’s cost him plenty of points already in 2025, but the pace he extracted out of his McLaren on Saturday and on the final lap of Sunday’s race highlights that he has the potential to be this season’s drivers’ champion.