Damon Hill drops 3-word reaction to McLaren boss claiming Lando Norris was nursing a damaged car in Australia

Former F1 driver Damon Hill reacted to Andrea Stella's claim that Lando Norris was nursing a damaged floor during the Australian Grand Prix, where he managed to win after putting on a dominant show. He was the fastest driver on Sunday.

Reigning Constructors' Champions McLaren stood up to the expectations as Lando Norris kicked off the season with a victory at Albert Park. Apart from his win, data suggests that he was the fastest driver throughout the race. However, this was not the maximum pace the car could deliver, as team principal Andrea Stella suggested.

He claimed that Lando Norris was driving the race with a damaged floor, which hampered the car's aerodynamics, not letting him extract the most from the MCL39.

"Lando had the floor pretty badly damaged," Stella said. "He lost aerodynamic performance and this meant that he couldn’t utilise the full pace of the car. So the situation got more tense than would have normally been the case because of the damage."

1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill reacted to these claims, dropping just three words on his Instagram story.

"Did OK then!" Hill wrote.

Damon Hill drops three-word reaction to Andrea Stella's claim (@96f1champ on Instagram)

Despite the damaged floor, Norris was able to put up a strong performance and kick off the season with a win.

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Lando Norris reviews how it was to battle for the win in the final stages of the race

Although the McLaren looked strong ahead of the pack during the race, Max Verstappen was looming right behind in the tricky conditions. After both leaders went into the grass in sector three because of the pouring rain, the Red Bull driver was able to battle closely, putting Norris' clear victory into doubt for some time.

Describing that moment, Norris mentioned that it was "stressful" to have Verstappen behind him, but he was able to clear off the danger and win the race.

"It was amazing," Norris said. "A tough race, especially with Max behind me. I was pushing, the last two laps were a little bit stressful, but an amazing way to start the year. It’s a tough one because we went off, made some big mistakes and went through the gravel and did a lot of damage."

"It was just tricky conditions, but these are the ones that are enjoyable, fun and unpredictable, but this time we got it right and we ended up on top. I’m very happy," he added.

Lando Norris currently leads the Drivers' World Championship with McLaren leading the Constructors' standings. The team only scored 27 points, however, as Oscar Piastri was sent to the back of the grid after being stuck on the patch of grass. Regardless, he was able to make up places and a final lap move on Lewis Hamilton to secure P9.

McLaren is tied with Mercedes at the top of the championship with 27 points each.