McLaren bluntly rejects Lando Norris’ stance of finishing in second-place at Australian GP

Lando Norris produced a solid driver around the Albert Park F1 circuit.

McLaren bluntly rejects Lando Norris’ stance of finishing in second-place at Australian GP

Andrea Stella and Lando Norris (Via: Imago)

The McLaren F1 team managed a third and fourth-place finish with its drivers at the Australian GP. it was a commendable outing by the papaya outfit but despite this, Lando Norris, felt a bit was left on the table.

After the 58-lap Albert Park event, Lando Norris insisted that had his team come up with a better strategy, he could have finished ahead of Charles Leclerc in second place. However, McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, does not agree with his driver.

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Stella has made it known that Ferrari was faster than McLaren on merit at Albert Park!

FS Video
Leclerc finished ahead of Lando because they have a faster car at the moment. The positive news is that this faster car is not faster by much at all. We were very close, which I think is encouraging for Japan in which some of the characteristics that make Australia being good for us take another step further in having a higher ratio of medium-high-speed [corners] compared to low-speed.
Andrea Stella said in an interview with Autosport

Ferrari’s SF-24 worked really well around the tricky Albert Park F1 circuit. Carlos Sainz never looked back after taking the lead from Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc followed his teammate behind after Verstappen’s retirement. After them, came the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Lando Norris’ take on overtaking Oscar Piastri at his home race

While Stella has somewhat rejected Norris’s claim of finishing second, the latter was in the limelight in Australia for overtaking his teammate, Oscar Piastri in his home race. Norris overtook the 22-year-old on lap 29 of the race!

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (Via: Imago)

Moreover, he has a pretty neutral viewpoint on it!

Depends on how you look at it, Like, I was a lot quicker and I would have overtaken him anyway, it’s just you don’t want to delay the process of that happening.
Lando Norris said in an interview with Planet F1

After the Australian GP McLaren is in a good place! They are third in the Constructors championship with 55 points and if they keep on improving their car, they could even challenge the lights of Ferrari and Red Bull going forward. The Woking-based team’s development cycle will play a key role in deciding where the team ends up at the end of the ongoing campaign.

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