Lando Norris: It was our first good race

The Australian Grand Prix followed a very bizarre scenario, but the McLaren drivers were among the lucky ones and both earned points.

Lando Norris (6th): “We showed good pace for most of the race, it took a long time before it ended chaotic. I had a good start, I managed to avoid problems, not to damage the car – it seems that it was already half the battle. It was important to avoid all this, because today many have made mistakes.

It wasn’t the easiest race overall but we made it to the finish and I was ahead of a few competitors including Nico Hulkenberg and overall it was our first good race judging by the pace we were really capable of . Therefore I am satisfied.

Nevertheless, I think the team has something to analyze because qualifying remains our weak point. Our car is not efficient enough with the DRS system activated – it adds almost no speed, and this seriously complicates our lives. Most competitors can do much faster than we do.

There are four DRS zones on this circuit and we lost a lot there – I think it’s due to our own shortcomings. Although we were about at the level of our rivals today and are gradually improving, the team understands what needs to be worked on. But today we still managed to reach a turning point in the situation.”

Oscar Pistri (8th): “Obviously the race was crazy and chaotic. It was the first time I had competed in a race that was stopped three times by a red flag. But I’m glad I earned points in the end; we were capable of a good pace.

I was chasing Yuki Tsunoda’s car for a while, but in the end I managed to pick the right moment and pull off a pretty classic overtake before opening a gap. Overall I was happy with the result given the capabilities of our car and we were already earning points at such an early stage of the season, especially at my home track.

It is clear that the first two races were not successful for our team, mainly for reasons beyond our control. But today the conditions were in our favour, and although many of the race participants were unlucky, it is nice that we managed to avoid difficulties.