Lando Norris: The perfect start to the season!

      Lando Norris won the last qualifying of the previous season and will also start the first race in 2025 from pole position. The entire front row in Melbourne will be occupied by McLaren cars – this is the 66th such achievement in the history of the British team.

      Lando Norris (1st): "The mood is great! This is the perfect start to the season, so congratulations to our team from the bottom of my heart. She's working incredibly well, and we're continuing to perform at the same level we were at at the end of last season.

      However, only qualifying is behind us, let's wait for tomorrow's race. It promises to be difficult, but today we did everything perfectly. The car is capable of great speed, and when you can put everything together, it's incredibly fast – but it's very difficult to put everything together.

      There was an interesting rivalry between Oscar and me today, especially after my first attempt when I went off the track. I knew that I would be in a difficult position on the second fastest lap.: I had to take serious risks, but at the same time try to avoid mistakes. The difficulty was to get the right mental attitude, but everything worked out, so I'm very happy.

      If we talk about tomorrow's race, then, as always, I try not to get ahead of the curve. I'm confident in the car, I'm starting from a great position, but we haven't driven in the rain at all yet. At the same time, we know how fast Max Verstappen can be on a wet track, so we'll see. There will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to excel tomorrow, but we also have a lot to learn during the race."

      Oscar Piastri (2nd): "Overall, I'm happy, because, of course, it's great to start the year from the front row. True, I ended up one position lower than I would have liked, but it's still a great start to the season.

      Now we need to get in the right mood, and then we'll see what tomorrow has in store for us. I just wasn't fast enough in the qualifying final, but there's a long season ahead, and I'm happy with the way it's starting. 

      I lost a little bit in the third sector compared to the previous lap. Also, I locked the brakes and ended up off the track on my first attempt in the final session. I didn't want to make that mistake twice, so I probably preferred not to take any chances, even though I could have driven a little faster."