Lando Norris: “It’s good to be back in Q3 given where we’ve been over the last few weeks”

Lando Norris enjoyed a strong Saturday around Albert Park, with the McLaren F1 Team driver qualifying fourth on the grid after ending fastest in final practice.

For the first time in 2022, McLaren appeared to show the kind of pace the MCL36 has been missing in the opening two races, and Norris was able to use that speed to good effect to put the car onto the second row.

Norris praised the team for the hard work they’ve been doing across the past couple of weeks to solve the issues that had prevented them fighting towards the front of the field in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and he hopes to continue the strong weekend into Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.

“Very happy, it’s nice to be P4,” said Norris.  “It’s a good reward for the team and the best we could have done today by quite a long way.

“Big thanks to everyone here at track, and back at the factory, for their hard work, which made this possible. It’s good to be back in Q3 given where we’ve been over the last few weeks.

“Hopefully today sets us up for a good race tomorrow and some decent points.”

“The only thing I’m a little bit sour about is the last run” – Daniel Ricciardo

Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo will line-up seventh on the grid, confirming the pace of the McLaren this weekend, but the home hero was disappointed not to improve on his final run that could have seen him gain a few spots.

Ricciardo says the car has been feeling good all weekend, and to make it comfortably through to Q3 was pleasing, but after being fourth after the first runs in the top ten shootout, his inability to improve saw him fall behind Norris as well as the two Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team drivers.

“I think it’s been a positive weekend so far,” said Ricciardo.  “I’ve been really happy with the progress and the car has felt good, which I think shows.

“We had a strong qualifying, so that’s been good, and overall, I’m very pleased. I think the only thing I’m a little bit sour about is the last run. I struggled on that last set of tyres but I’m not really sure why, so we’ll look into that.

“Other than that, it was a really good session. So, we’re in a good spot for tomorrow.”

Daniel Ricciardo will start his home Grand Prix from seventh on the grid – Credit: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images/McLaren F1 Team