Norris: You'll be surprised how fast the Ferraris turn out to be.

      The McLaren team arrived at the first stage of the season in Melbourne as favorites, but Lando Norris suggests not jumping to conclusions. The British driver is confident that the four leading teams are at about the same level, and this weekend everyone can be surprised by the Ferrari drivers.

      Lando Norris: "I know that there are high expectations associated with our team – everyone is talking about it all the time. But it was the only time I drove the race distance in the tests, and after that everyone believed that we had a huge advantage. Yes, that attempt was good, but it took place in perfect conditions.

      The next day, Oscar ran a simulation of the race, and he turned out to be much slower. Not because he was driving worse, but because the condition of the track was slower. So I'm surprised that many people turned out to be short-sighted, especially those who don't expect it, and began to draw conclusions even before the start of the season.

      It seems that everyone is trying to pretend that they are lagging behind. We're just focused on our own tasks, but it's nice that many people talk about us like that. It's a great advertisement for McLaren, so thank you. But all these words won't matter if I don't do my job well this weekend.

      In my opinion, we are at the same level as the other three leading teams. I think it's right to talk about the top four teams, but people just don't want to notice some things. The rivals are strong, including Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari.

      I know how much fuel the Ferrari had during most of the tests. You'd be surprised how fast they turn out to be this weekend.

      People can say what they want, but we have to stay focused. We want to be fast, but we are preparing for an intense fight on this track. I definitely don't think we have the advantage that everyone is talking about."