Lando Norris says McLaren ‘learned from our mistakes’ to win Australian Grand Prix
By Simon Head
McLaren ace Lando Norris sped to victory in the Australian Grand Prix, then paid tribute to his team for making key strategy calls at the right time to secure the victory.
Norris took the win less than a second ahead of reigning world champion Max Verstappen, and had to be at his most vigilant to hold off the charging Dutchman in the final moments of the 57-lap race at Albert Park in Melbourne.
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It was a race that threw a lot at the drivers, with the Grand Prix starting in wet conditions, then drying out, before more rain arrived to cause chaos in the middle portion of the race.
“It was amazing," said Norris.
"Tough, tough race, especially with Max behind me. I was pushing, you know? It was, especially the last two laps, a little bit stressful, I'm not gonna lie!
"But an amazing way to start the year, a tough one."
Despite his victory, it was far from a clean race for Norris, who slid off the track and managed to return to the tarmac still ahead of Verstappen, while his teammate Oscar Piastri, found himself stuck on the slippery grass after sliding off at the same time.
Norris said he was grateful to keep the car pointed in the right direction and recover before going on to win the race with a masterful drive in incredibly tricky conditions.
"We went off, and we made some big mistakes," he admitted.
"I went through the gravel, a lot of the damage, just tricky conditions. But these are the ones that are enjoyable and fun and unpredictable. But this time, we got it right, and we ended up on top. So I'm very happy."
The changing weather conditions throughout the race meant that teams had to be on point with the timing of their pitstops to ensure that their drivers didn’t lose time and valuable track position on Melbourne’s tricky street circuit.
It’s been something that Norris and his McLaren team have struggled with in the past, and Norris himself pointed to missed opportunities at the British Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix last season as he praised how his team handled the race in Australia.
"We got it wrong a lot last year, so I guess we learned from our mistakes," he said.
"We lost out on Silverstone and Canada through a race like this. So we just learned from our mistakes, I think.
"It's still only round one of 24, but dealing with the pressure, dealing with Max, dealing with Oscar behind me. I was pushing the whole way through. I could relax inside, but I wasn't relaxing from how much I was pushing."
Norris also deserved great credit for his drive, and he reflected on a job well done not just by the team, but by himself, too.
"To not make overly too many mistakes, to not have a mistake that cost me anything, I guess I can take a little bit of credit for that," he said.
"So yeah, a tough, tough, challenging race. But I mean for McLaren, I need to give a big thanks, because they've given me an amazing car. So I have to start with them.
"My weekend's been amazing from the get go – from FP1, FP2, FP3, quali, and then the race.
"So it's not easy to put a weekend together like this, especially when I got a lot of pressure from Max and from Oscar, because they're hungry and they're competitive and they want it just as badly, so (it's) stressful. But I know what I'm capable of. I know what I can do.
"But it's just round one, so we need to go and do it again next weekend and then continue from there. So, a long season ahead. We just want to keep our head down and keep pushing."
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