2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Highlights

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Lando and Oscar hold their positions as the lights go out, remaining P3 and P5, respectively. Verstappen retires from first with mechanical problems, promoting Lando to second and Oscar to third. Oscar boxes for fresh tyres on Lap 9, switching to Hards. Lando waits for another five laps and heads in on Lap 14, also switching to the Hard. He slots into fourth behind Oscar. As Oscar begins to struggle with tyre wear, he and Lando switch positions. Oscar pits on Lap 39, bolting on another set of Hards, returning in fifth behind Alonso. Lando takes on another fresh set of Hards on Lap 40 and rejoins in third, four seconds off Leclerc. Lando clinches third at the flag, scoring McLaren’s first podium of the season and their first in Australia for ten years. Oscar comfortably holds onto fourth to notch his highest finish in Australia to date.

Lando Norris

Our first podium of the season! It was a perfect day for us. P3, P4 and lots of points in the championship. I think our pace was strong today, but Ferrari and Carlos did an excellent job, so hats off to them. They’ve been fast all weekend. The car felt good, and I could manage the tyres very well today, and that was a good step.

It’s clear that this circuit suits us a little bit more, so we’ve been able to push and unlock some speed. But Ferrari and Red Bull are still one or two steps ahead of us, so we need to catch up. A big thanks to everyone in McLaren; they’ve been working incredibly hard. We’re getting closer to our target. I wasn’t expecting to be on the podium, but it’s nice to be back; I’m thrilled and proud of our team. Hopefully, we can have many more.

Oscar Piastri

P4. A good result for us. I think the pace was good the whole way through. I struggled a little bit on the first set of Hards; I just grained them a little bit and then had a little bit of a moment. I think it was a perfect day for the team regarding points. I don’t think there was too much we could have done on my side, so yeah, I’m pretty happy. It is so close to a podium, but it will come. Lando did a great job today getting the P3. All in all, a successful week at home.

Andrea Stella

Our first podium of the season has come with a solid performance here in Australia. Albert Park definitely seemed to suit the MCL38, but finishing P3 and P4 also required the team to do a fantastic job delivering performance and reliability, while the drivers were excellent today in how they coped with the tyres.

It is a significant team effort on both sides of the world. I want to thank all the men and women at McLaren and HPP who have worked very hard to consolidate and continue the joyous journey we started in 2023. I hope the team at home and our partners enjoy this podium as much as the trackside team. We now look ahead to our following doubleheader, which will start in Japan.

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