Lando Norris says there were many inconsistencies with his McLaren despite showing form in Friday practice at the Australian Grand Prix, Afrosport reports.
The British driver topped Friday practice before finishing third in second practice, 0.141 seconds behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
While Norris acknowledged the pace was strong, he was not happy with the overall balance of the car.
“So-so. I think it’s been a good start to the weekend. We’ve got a good baseline, but certainly not happy or confident with the car in terms of finding the best balance and being consistent enough, especially on low fuel,” he said.
“I feel like [on the] high fuel, I felt good, [but] just low fuel, similar to Bahrain – too many inconsistencies, too many problems, so a bit of a struggle.
“I think the pace was pretty solid, still a few things to try and iron out to make the car feel a bit nicer,” he said.
“I think the underlying pace seems strong. I’m pretty happy with the day’s work. I think it’s going to be pretty different for the next two days, so how much today means, we don’t know, but it feels pretty good.”
Plenty of positives to take from day one 😄🙌#NeverStopRacing | #AusGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/Qoo5u8KZZm
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 14, 2025
Meanwhile, reigning world champion Max Verstappen complained of balance problems in his Red Bull after finishing fifth and seventh in practice.
“To be honest, the balance wasn’t even completely out. No massive or major problems,” he said. “But somehow, the grip was not coming alive. I was just struggling on all four tyres, really, in Sector 1 and the last sector. That means, of course, that were are not really up there at the moment.
“The problem is that it’s not really like I have major balance problems. I think it will be a bit hard to fix.
“It’s also nothing that I didn’t expect when I arrived here. I’m not positively or negatively surprised with the pace we are showing.
“We just have to make sure that we find a bit more pace, but at the moment we are definitely lacking a bit to fight up front.”
Our first track day comes to a close! 🇦🇺
We’re still finding our feet, with Max finishing P7 and Liam in P17 #F1 || #AusGP pic.twitter.com/XgPGyVZsSa
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 14, 2025
Attention will now turn to final practice on Saturday before the qualifying session for Sunday’s main race.
