Lando Norris has kicked off the new season with his fifth Grand Prix victory. McLaren has been considered the favourite since the testing days in Bahrain, but after the win in Australia, the Brit is now willing to openly admit it. “We are the favourites,” Norris confesses, although he immediately adds a few caveats.
Lando Norris started the race in Melbourne in pole position and subsequently crossed the finish line first. Although this statistic suggests an easy race for the Brit, Norris indeed had to fight until the end for his fifth Grand Prix victory. Rival Max Verstappen came within a second of the McLaren driver towards the end.
“Max was three-tenths behind me,” Norris also says after the race. “Last year we (McLaren) were much further (behind Red Bull), but we ended the season with the best car.” The Brit therefore warns not to get ahead of ourselves. However, Norris does dare to draw a conclusion from the race, which he previously did not dare to make. “I do think we are the favourites, because the team has done an amazing job and the car really flies. But we will still have races where we will struggle.”
‘Not Our Mentality’
George Russell had already concluded before the race in Melbourne that McLaren is in a league of its own. “McLaren can already halt the development of the MCL39 and fully focus on 2026,” said the Mercedes driver. However, Norris does not agree with his compatriot.
“I know George said we can already focus on 2026, and if that’s (Mercedes’, ed.) mentality, great, but that’s not our mentality,” Norris said. “We still have a lot of work to do on this year’s car. If you rest on your laurels in this position, you will fall. If you start thinking in Formula 1 that everything is going well, that’s the moment you actually lose.”
