McLaren had a mixed weekend at the Formula 1 Australian GP, with Lando Norris finishing in fifth position and Oscar Piastri being forced to retire even before lining up for the start.
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Norris evaluated his performance positively, highlighting strategy and tire management: “P5 is a good result, I think we maximized what we could today. The gap to the leaders is big, and clearly we have a lot of work ahead of us, which we already expected for this weekend. The fact that we managed to defend our position against Max (Verstappen from Red Bull Racing) and keep him behind, even though he had much more pace, was positive. We managed the strategy well, protected our position and looked after the tires to keep him behind,” he stated.
The Briton also commented on the upcoming challenges: “We need to work hard to understand where we are losing pace relative to the leaders, as well as how we can better prepare for race weekends. I have full confidence in my team to achieve this. It looks like it will be a long and difficult season, but we are in a reasonable position to start and we will do our best,” concluded the current champion.
Meanwhile, Piastri had a frustrating weekend, failing to start due to an accident on the formation lap: “I’m disappointed. Today wasn’t how we wanted to start the season. Unfortunately, a combination of factors, including cold tires, being in the middle of the curb and more power than I had in the qualifying session in one corner, made me spin. We will review everything tonight and, next week, we will stay focused and ready to keep fighting. I thank the fans for the support this weekend, it was incredible, and I’m sad I couldn’t race in front of them,” the Australian driver stated.
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Team principal Andrea Stella explained the circumstances of Piastri’s accident and commented on Norris’s race: “It was a shame to enter the GP with only one car. During the formation lap, a combination of factors, including low tire temperature, unexpected torque and being on the curb, caused the spin and Oscar’s crash in sector 4. It was a difficult moment, especially in his home race, but he is strong and has joined the team to go to China even more motivated next weekend. As for the race, it was very important to finish it with Lando, to collect as much data and learning as possible under these new regulations. He did a great job adapting to various scenarios and competing with Verstappen’s Red Bull. However, we finished a certain distance from the leader, so it’s clear we have work to do. We need to better exploit the power unit and improve cornering grip to find more performance,” he said.
Stella concluded by thanking the team: “Thanks to everyone in Woking and at the circuit, and to HPP-Mercedes (engine supplier), for the work so far. We will take everything we learned this weekend and ensure we go to China even stronger,” he added.
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