What Lando Norris is “not happy” about with McLaren's F1 car
Lando Norris feels McLaren have work to do over one lap ahead of qualifying in Australia.
Lando Norris says he is “not happy” or “confident” with his McLaren F1 car despite appearing to make a strong start at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
The Briton topped first practice in Melbourne and ended up third-quickest in the second session, just over a tenth adrift of Charles Leclerc’s pacesetting Ferrari.
On paper, at least, it looked like a strong start to the weekend for McLaren, who are viewed as the early favourites by their rivals heading into the 2025 season.
But Norris’s reaction to the first day of running in Australia was not hugely positive as he highlighted some early concerns with the outright pace of his MCL39 challenger.
Lando Norris reacts to F1 Australian GP practice
"So, so,” Norris replied when asked how his Friday went.
“It’s been a good start to the weekend, I think we’ve got a good baseline but certainly not happy, like not confident with the car in terms of finding the best balance and being consistent enough, especially on low fuel.
"High fuel, I felt good. Just low fuel was still similar to Bahrain, too many inconsistencies, too many problems, so a bit of a struggle.”
Read more: Long run data analysis establishes McLaren and Ferrari pecking order in Australia
Norris said on Thursday that his rivals are “short-sighted” for branding McLaren as the team to beat based on pre-season testing alone.
"I'm quite surprised so many people are so short-sighted, especially people you wouldn't expect to be, making so many conclusions before you even start the season,” he said.
"Everyone just wants to play that game of looking like the underdog and playing it down."
Teammate Oscar Piastri, who edged Norris to the second-fastest time in FP2 by just 0.017s, was more encouraged by McLaren’s early showing.
"It was pretty encouraging,” the home hero said. "The pace was pretty solid. Still a few things to iron out to make the car feel a bit nicer but the underlying pace was strong.
“I’m happy with the days’ work. I think conditions will be different the next two days, so how much today means I don’t know but it feels good.”
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