Norris: There are rules that we can't break.

      In a fierce battle with teammate Lando, Norris won qualifying in Melbourne and hopes to win the race.…

      Question: Lando, congratulations! How good was that last lap in the final session?Lando Norris: Good enough. Because of the crash on the first fastest lap, and just because of the incredibly tight fight, especially with Oscar, the situation was not easy for me.

      Self-confidence and self-reliance are important on this track. You know what the goal is, and when you go into a turn, you just hope for the best. You want to take risks. Obviously, I risked too much on the first lap by going off the track, but in the last attempt I pulled myself together, drove the lap cleanly, and that was enough. I am satisfied. A great way to start the season.

      Q: Before qualifying, were you sure that you would win the pole position?Lando Norris: No matter how much we want to dominate and achieve a result like today, there can be no certainty about the result. It was very difficult to drive clean fast laps and put everything together. I had a problem with that this weekend. But the car is fast, and McLaren has done everything to maintain the strengths of last year's car and make it even faster.

      Question: Let's move on to the race. If it doesn't rain, what will be your pace on the long run?Lando Norris: High enough. We looked good on the long run in Bahrain, and we did well here last year, in a much worse car. There is only one goal – to win the race and win a winning double. But the weather can bring a surprise, you need to be prepared for this. That's all we can do.

      Question: If it turns out to be wet tomorrow, what will you tune in to?Lando Norris: To win. Nothing will change. This route is more difficult in the rain – there are barriers around, slippery marking lines. Mistakes are costly here. The track is testing your endurance, but we have a good car, so you just need to focus on the result. We'll see. Anything is possible in the rain.

      Q: Is it known that your team allows its riders to fight, but is it important for the team to win the double tomorrow, especially considering that Max starts right behind you?Lando Norris: Obviously, there were discussions because... We know that there will be many such moments in the season. There are clear rules that we cannot break. Both cars should always stay in the race, but we are both rivals. That's clear. We both want to fight for victory and win. But there are boundaries around the car that must not be violated, and the rule is to leave more space for your partner.

      We can fight freely, but last year we won the Constructors' Cup because we helped each other and kept order. Back then, what was happening was due to external factors, but now they are not there yet, which we are both glad about. Of course, in the morning we will talk about how to act in the race, but that's okay.

      Q: You were expecting a serious confrontation from Ferrari, but they are still behind you. How would you rate the speed margin you had today?Lando Norris: I really expected more. They were as fast as we were during the weekend. In qualifying, we definitely expected to fight with Ferrari, although Max was not so far behind.

      I was expecting the Ferrari to be faster. I do not know why they did not succeed – they could not put everything together, or they struggled with the car more. It's better to ask them. We all expected the Ferraris to be faster because they were just as fast as us all weekend. So, rather, they just failed to qualify for some reason.