‘Copybook victory as Norris and McLaren come through chaos unscathed’

With a copybook victory in an Australian Grand Prix in the most challenging of conditions, Lando Norris and McLaren lived up to their potential.

His victory, according to Briton Norris, was “stressful but rewarding.”

The first adjective was justified by the circumstances of a madcap, crash-strewn, incident-packed race, in which one minor error can spell disaster, as it nearly did for Norris himself at one point.

However, in Melbourne, they were as flawless as they could be in such a climate; at one point, even Max Verstappen, a renowned rainmaster, slipped up. Norris and McLaren survived the abyss unharmed.

An incident that defined the race’s 13 laps underscored the delicate line between victory and defeat.

As a heavy rainstorm approached the track, Norris was leading team-mate Verstappen and Oscar Piastri.

With 13 more to go, it struck as the leaders negotiated the final corners.

At the turn 12 exit, both McLarens ran wide on the gravel, and Australian Piastri spun through Turn 13.

Piastri spent what appeared to be an entire lifetime sitting on the grass outside of Turn 12 while Norris’ hopes of winning at home waned before finally rejoining. By the end, he had risen to ninth place.

Norris pressed on with treaded tires straight away. He and the team had planned to pit as soon as it rained, and they had decided to go ahead with the plan, which led to his victory in the race.

It’s so simple to make mistakes and ruin everything, according to Norris. Within a second, everything could have gone wrong.

You lock up, you hit the white line incorrectly, and you have a big snap at any second in the race. Sometimes it was just very, very difficult to stop going into a hole or tyre barrier somewhere.

“That’s a big enough challenge, but it’s even more difficult when you’ve got Max and Oscar behind you and the weather and track conditions changing, and then it’s stressful when you’ve got to make the right choice to switch to a slick tyre and stay off the inter-tyre.”

That’s what makes it rewarding, though.

We spent a lot of time working over the winter to get ready for a race like this because we missed many opportunities last season in Silverstone, especially knowing how crucially important it is to be prepared.

Five meters before I boxed, we were very, very decisive today. In the end, it was the right choice, and that gave us the lead.

However, the race was still ongoing.

The 25-year-old Norris highlighted his lack of experience when he said, “That situation was new for me. Last season was my first fighting consistently at the front. With five laps to go, I’ve never been able to lead a race in such a tight environment and with Max in the lead.

“Maybe Max has experienced that a few times in his race against Lewis (Hamilton) a lot, and he can handle it probably more effectively than I can.

“I’m happy I managed to get through it and kept my composure.” I improved a lot from the previous year.

McLaren delivered as hoped. They ran the quickest over the weekend, and Norris acknowledged that their status as favorites before and after the race was justifiable.

Although the long run in Bahrain two weeks ago had demonstrated their strong pace, the car wasn’t always as good as some people believed it looked there, according to Norris, who said they earned it in pre-season testing.

Not all races would be this way, he emphasized, and the job was only just beginning.

“The car is flying,” Norris said. However, there will be races in which we will struggle.

I wouldn’t have faith in our race if we competed in Bahrain as round one.

With Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell either side of him, Norris also made a sharp reference to the rivals’ rookie team-mates during the post-race press conference, making a point about Piastri’s presence alongside him contributing to McLaren’s strong weekend.

We’re the favorites, we’re the team to beat, he said, “Let’s allow a few more races to occur before we start making any (predictions),” primarily because two drivers are pushing each other up.

That is helpful. Do I believe that because our team-mates aren’t as skilled and experienced as they are, working together yesterday, and pushing one another, allowed us to get one and a half, one tenth more than the two drivers here? Yes. “

Verstappen and Russell were conversing while assuming that McLaren would suffer a lot.

Verstappen was considering the fact that as the track dried, Verstappen lost 15 seconds to the McLarens for the first time.

He said, “We had no chance as the tyres started to overheat.” McLaren essentially just sped away.

“I’m very happy that we are second here, despite the fact that there is still a lot to do to win.” It basically makes us better than we should have been. We’ll try our hardest.