Lando Norris said McLaren have significant work to do after he finished fifth in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, admitting he struggled with several issues during the race.
After team mate Oscar Piastri spun off on the way to the grid, Norris was McLaren’s only starter. He began sixth and stayed in the top-10 battle but was unable to match the pace of the leading Mercedes and Ferrari cars. He fended off late pressure from Max Verstappen to take fifth at the chequered flag, but described the afternoon as a tough learning exercise.
Norris explained that the team learned things during the race: they were relatively slow at the start but showed some improvement by the end, even if they remained well off the leaders’ pace. He said the team must examine a range of areas to understand the deficit, including the power unit, though he felt the car itself was the bigger issue.
He acknowledged he was grappling with a number of problems during the stint and that further data review will be needed to identify specific fixes. Despite the setbacks, Norris stressed there is time to close the gap. He noted it stings after recent seasons but congratulated George Russell and praised Mercedes and Ferrari for their strong early form.
“Our priority is to learn quickly and make improvements,” Norris added, while accepting that meaningful gains will take time. McLaren will analyse the data from Melbourne as they prepare to address the car’s weaknesses before the next race.