Lando Norris sent brilliant message by Alpine rival Franco Colapinto after winning the Monaco Grand Prix

McLaren driver Lando Norris showed his world championship credentials at the Monaco Grand Prix with a fantastic performance throughout the race weekend.

Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri are now separated by just three points in the drivers’ championship.

Ferrari star Charles Leclerc led every session heading into Saturday’s all-important qualifying session, but it was the British McLaren driver who set a blistering lap record to take pole position.

The pressure was then on Norris to control the race from the front and despite a huge lockup heading into the first corner, he managed to stay ahead of Leclerc as an intriguing tactical battle played out behind him.

Jacques Villeneuve was impressed with Norris’ one-lap pace considering he had previously made too many mistakes in qualifying at crucial moments earlier in the season.

Ferrari couldn’t put too much pressure on Norris with Lewis Hamilton out of position, so it was up to Max Verstappen to test his nerve in the closing stages of the race.

He tried to back Norris into Leclerc but ran out of laps to force an error out of his championship rival and pitted on the penultimate lap to finish fourth.

Norris received plenty of messages of congratulations after the race, including from his newest rival on the grid Franco Colapinto who had a very contrasting weekend.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Franco Colapinto sends message to Lando Norris after winning the Monaco Grand Prix

Alpine and Franco Colapinto had a very different weekend to McLaren as they fight to avoid finishing bottom of the constructors’ championship.

Colapinto impressed Flavio Briatore at Imola but had a costly crash on his Alpine debut and was driving like someone who had been told to avoid collecting the barriers at all costs this weekend.

He qualified last and was stuck in the train of cars in the midfield throughout the race, while his teammate Pierre Gasly crashed into Yuki Tsunoda and ended his Monaco Grand Prix after pitting on the first lap.

Norris posted on Instagram after winning the race on the streets of the principality and said: “Monaco win. For you Mum and Dad.”

He received plenty of replies with F1 TV pundit Ruth Buscombe Divey replying: “Lando legennnd.” and Sky Sports F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham saying: “The most wholesome of content! So happy for, and proud of you Lando.”

Colapinto added his congratulations to the post as well, and replied: “Well done Landinioooo top weekend.”:

READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know

Franco Colapinto explains where he ‘struggling’ during his first Formula 1 race at Monaco

Colapinto managed to finish 13th in Monaco, matching Jack Doohan’s best finish during his first six races of the 2025 season.

Asked about his race weekend during his official press conference, the Argentine explained: “Starting from eighteenth place today, it was a hard ask to enter the points, especially in a race with such little action.

“I would say finishing in 13th was the maximum we could really do with all the traffic and different tactics from other teams on track.

“With Pierre’s incident, we switched to do an earlier stop. From there, it was just a tough race to round off a difficult weekend here in Monaco.

“We struggled with low-speed balance and we just could not make the car work as we wanted here.

“We will continue our hard work ahead of the next Grand Prix in Spain at a more conventional track.”

Colapinto technically has three races left to prove to Alpine that he deserves to extend his stay in the car for the rest of the campaign.

He may have taken a long time to get up to speed during the race weekend, but finishing the race when his teammate’s car arrived in the pit lane with a wheel hanging off and no brakes should be a success in Colapinto’s book.

The Spanish Grand Prix will be a more accurate test of his skill and whether he’s a step above Doohan as the circuit will provide ample overtaking opportunities and less chance of tactical shenanigans ruining his race.