Norris: Monza hat-trick the plan but ‘hard to know’

Lando Norris has a hat-trick firmly in his sights at the Italian Grand Prix, but Formula 1’s reigning world champion is refusing to get carried away by McLaren’s recent surge.

Two wins in a row have transformed the Briton’s momentum, yet he knows the Autodromo Nazionale Monza could quickly expose any weaknesses still lurking beneath the surface.

After a frustrating opening stretch to 2026, Norris finally rediscovered the top step in Hungary before producing another hard-earned victory at Zandvoort.

The double has made him the only non-Mercedes driver to string together consecutive wins this season – and naturally, the question now is whether he can make it three.

Norris certainly likes the sound of the prospect. But predicting where McLaren will stand when the lights go out is another matter entirely.

Norris refuses to predict McLaren’s Monza pace

Asked how confident he was about completing his winning hat-trick, Norris made it clear that ambition is plentiful, certainty less so.

“It's certainly the plan. It's still hard to know, I think we're at the stage where it's hard to predict where we're going to be,” he said.

“I think we also don't want to waste time trying to predict these things. We're just focused, working on the stuff that's in our control. I'm doing the same.

“Clearly in a good place as a whole team at the minute, we know we have things we really have to try and work on and improve and we'll see if we've been able to make any progress into this weekend.

“Looking forward to it, it's another weekend where we want to be hopeful and believe it's possible. We kind of just have to wait and see.”

That caution is rooted in a season in which the competitive order has shifted dramatically from circuit to circuit.

What works brilliantly at one venue can suddenly leave a car struggling at another, making Monza an intriguing test of whether McLaren’s recent revival is genuine momentum or simply a product of favourable circumstances.

Norris, however, sees enough in the track to remain optimistic.

“It's another track where we want to prove things,” he added. “I wouldn't say it's a bad circuit for us, we've been good here in the past. I think there are still tracks ahead that I'm not looking forward to quite as much.

“There's still some good high-speed corners here which we want to try and make use of.

“Still a very long season, lots of different types of tracks we still have ahead of us. The goal is to continue the performances we've had lately, but we'll have to see tomorrow how the pace is and see if we can have another good weekend.”

A loving home – with more wins in mind

There is another reason for Norris to head into Monza in a buoyant mood. His recent decision to extend his McLaren commitment through the end of 2030 has cemented a relationship that began when he entered F1 with the team.

Following Max Verstappen’s long-term commitment to Red Bull, Norris has now become the second driver on the grid to make such a substantial future pledge.

For the 26-year-old, though, the decision appears to have been less about contracts and more about belonging.

“I just love where I am, simple as that,” Norris said of the news. “I don't want to change, don't want to be with other people. Don't want to have a reset and work with anyone else. Happy that I'm with people I love to spend time with, create memories.

“They're my family, [the] team I've been with since beginning in F1, and they're also the team that I believe can help me win races and win more championships. For me there's two big reasons, the people and the performance that we have.

“Not everything in life is about performance, I just want to be places that I'm happy and for now, only been with one team and I'm happy with them.”

• Read also: Piastri turns to ‘experimentation’ to close Norris gap

Now Norris has the chance to reward that faith with another victory.

A third consecutive triumph would not only extend his remarkable recent run, but send an emphatic message that McLaren’s champion is finally finding the rhythm that eluded him for much of the first half of the season.

The only catch is that Monza, rather than Norris himself, will likely have the final say.

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