McLaren men remain cautious: 'It went up and down a bit'

Lando Norris finished the first free practice for the Australian Grand Prix at the top of the timesheet. On the day of news that McLaren CEO Zak Brown will remain with the team until 2030, Norris, Oscar Piastri and Andrea Stella talk about the first day at the Albert Park Street Circuit. After the first day, Norris remains quite nuanced.

"A reasonable day. We struggled to find a bit of confidence given the gusts of wind, so we didn’t get the best feeling, but I think the pace is reasonable. We’re in the mix, which is a good sign. It should make our lives exciting tomorrow – but we’ve still got a lot of work to do to make the most of it," the Englishman said.

Piastri and Stella also happy

Piastri could be found in the midfield in both sessions. During FP1 he was tenth, and during the second practice session, he finished seventh. "First day in Melbourne. All-in-all, not a bad day. We were a bit up and down, but there were definitely some positive signs. We’ll have a look and see what we can find for tomorrow – but it’s been nice to be driving back at home. We’ve got a few things to look at and try to work on but I'm feeling optimistic." Australian Piastri said.

Team boss Stella thought the first day in Melbourne went quite reasonably. "From a performance point of view, it’s been an encouraging day. The car behaves well in general but there are some aspects to improve. We have a lot of data to look into this evening to prepare for qualifying and the race.”