Lando Norris predicts Ferrari will claim the pole position over Max Verstappen at Australian GP

Ferrari has so par proved extremely strong around the Albert Park F1 circuit.

Lando Norris predicts Ferrari will claim the pole position over Max Verstappen at Australian GP

Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen (Via: Imago)

Lando Norris has been quite vocal about Ferrari‘s pace over McLaren for the past two rounds. Moreover, the prancing horses have been quite fast during the Free Practice sessions held at Albert Park. Charles Leclerc claimed the fastest lap in FP2, ahead of Max Verstappen. Now, the 24-year-old has claimed that the Dutchman would not be able to secure pole position tomorrow due to Ferrari’s monumental pace.

Red Bull and Max Verstappen began the season with two consecutive wins in the first two rounds of the 2024 season. This dominance of Verstappen had set the tone for the season to be entirely wiped out by the Austrian giant. However, with the strong pace of Ferrari and Charles Leclerc, who topped the FP2 session in race conditions, it is anticipated that the Monegasque could pose a real threat.

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After seeing the strong pace of the prancing horses, Lando Norris, put his money on Ferrari to bag the pole against the might of the Dutchman.

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The Ferraris will be on pole tomorrow. It was clear from the start that Red Bull and Ferrari are far too fast for us. So it makes no sense to look at them.
Lando Norris said in an interview with Motorsport-total

The Brit made a bold claim that the Italian team would be claiming the pole position during qualifying. Moreover, Norris stated that he expected Ferrari and Red Bull to be ahead of them this weekend. Hence, the two giants are not on the target list for McLaren and they would focus on their battle with Mercedes, to be ‘the best of the rest’.

Lando Norris on McLaren’s MCL38 weaknesses

McLaren is considered to have the fastest car in high-speed sections of Albert Park. Moreover, the MCL38 has been in contention for the podium spots but has been unable to achieve the same. Following this, Norris revealed the weaknesses and where the car lacks the development to challenge the Red Bulls.

McLaren driver Lando Norris
Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Following FP2, the McLaren driver was asked about the troubles he had with the car.

There is no place that we're consistently stronger than anyone, and we lose just a little bit in every sector, maybe a little bit more in the tight, twisty corners, like the last sector.
Lando Norris said in an interview with RacingNews365

The 24-year-old claimed that the car was not adapted to the tight corners. Subsequently, this leads the woking-based team to lose time to their rivals in the twisty corners.

However, team personnel are aware of this issue and are working to solve it at MTC. Moreover, the drivers have been quite patient with the car and hope that this issue will be resolved timely for the upcoming races.

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