F1 | Australian GP | Lando Norris "It’s a special race for me, as I made my debut there in 2019."
Lando Norris returns to Albert Park Circuit this weekend. The track which he qualified p8 at on his debut. A similar starting grid spot this weekend would show clear progress for the MCL36.
Formula One returns to Melbourne for the first time since 2020 and it is very clear that the spotlight will shine brightly on Daniel Ricciardo. The much-loved Perth native will have a full schedule of interviews and autograph sessions. Meanwhile, his teammate Lando Norris will be able to go about his routine as normal and has every chance of capturing the form he demonstrated on his debut at Melbourne in 2019.
In 2022, the season is yet to get started for Lando Norris and McLaren. A temperamental car with drastically different levels of performance depending on the circuit has proved difficult to handle. Nevertheless, Lando Norris, speaking this week to mclaren.com made clear how excited he is about returning to Melbourne.
“I’m looking forward to getting out on track in the new car in Melbourne, especially with the changes they’ve made since we last raced there three years ago. I’m excited to see what progress we can make.”
Lando Norris arrived on the F1 stage in 2019 at the Australian Grand Prix. On that weekend, the world of F1 saw an impressive 19-year-old enjoy a superb debut as he qualified P8 for McLaren. When the chequered flag fell on race day, Norris crossed the line in P12 but it was clear a new star had been born.
“It’s a special race for me, as I made my debut there in 2019 and with the pandemic, we haven’t raced there since, so I've been working hard in the sim to get back up to speed with the track, especially with the new changes.” Norris said.
The 2021 F1 season showed Lando Norris racing at the top of his game and desperately unlucky not to win the Russian Grand Prix. However, Norris was part of the only 1’2 finish by a team in F1 partnering Daniel Ricciardo when the Australian racer memorably won the Italian Grand Prix.
There is a long way to go before McLaren can imagine similar days again but there was clear progress made last time out at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
After a miserable Bahrain Grand Prix, which saw both McLaren drivers finish far outside the top 10, Lando Norris crossed the line at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in P7. Despite scoring 6 valuable points of the season for his team, Norris knows there is a long way to go.
“The race in Jeddah showed the small steps we’ve made but we’ve still got a long way to go. The points were a nice reward for the team’s hard work. As a team, at track and back at the factory, we’re working hard to develop the car and unlock more performance, but we know we’ve got a long way to go.”
One driver in contention of victory this weekend is F1 Drivers’ Championship leader Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris took great delight posting a video on his Instagram story of the Monegasque racer. With Leclerc sat at a table signing several dozen Scuderia Ferrari hats, Norris commented ‘Wow, it’s Charles Leclerc’ with a caption of ‘He’s so famous! So many hats to sign. Just wow!’. As much as it is done in jest, Norris no doubt looks forward to the day when he will be in a similar position with the team he signed an extension with through to the 2025 F1 season.
Meanwhile, McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl is eager to see how his MCL36 will perform around the reconfigured Albert Park Circuit.
“The team and I are excited to be back in Australia after a few years, especially with the significance of it being Daniel’s first home race with McLaren. There have been some significant changes to the track since we last raced here back in 2019, with the widening of the entry to some corners and changing the old chicane to a fast-flowing right hander. It will be great to see how the new regulation cars respond to this as it should make for exciting racing and good on-track battles.”
It has been ten years since McLaren last triumphed in Melbourne. On that day, Jenson Button found his way to the top of the podium. ‘Believe in McLaren’ may be the team’s tagline, but it would take the most ardent fan to believe that the papaya coloured team will be the victor this time round. It is important to remember that it is only the third Grand Prix of a 23-race season so don’t count McLaren out. There is definitely pace in the MCL36 which just needs to be extracted and for that reason points are a realistic prospect for the team this weekend.
