F1 legend drops one-word reaction to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri sealing the front row for McLaren at the F1 Australian GP Qualifying

McLaren had an exceptional qualifying session at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri sealed a front-row finish. While Norris got pole position, Piastri qualified P2, which prompted a one-word reaction from Formula 1 legend, Damon Hill.

On March 14, 2025, the Albert Park Circuit saw a huge crowd turnout for the qualifying session as the 2025 Australian Grand Prix got underway. Rookies Liam Lawson and Kimi Antonelli dominated the headlines after their early exit in Q1.

Moreover, Lewis Hamilton also had a rough day, qualifying P8 in his debut with Ferrari. However, McLaren, the defending constructors champions, were flying on the track.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri grabbed the top three slots throughout the qualifying session, and Norris went on to clinch pole position with the fastest lap time of 1:15.096 in Q3. Piastri wasn't far behind, finishing P2 with a time difference of +0.084.

With McLaren sealing a front-row finish in Australia, world champion Damon Hill shared an exciting one-word reaction on social media. He reshared McLaren's team post on his Instagram story and said:

"Pow!!"

Damon Hill's reaction to McLaren's qualifying results in Australia [Image Source: @96f1champ/Instagram]

McLaren has the fastest car for this weekend, and the practice as well as the qualifying session results demonstrate the same. Both Norris and Piastri will begin the race on Sunday in the front row.

However, the situation with Norris could likely get complicated. Last season, he messed up multiple race starts and lost races despite being on pole, for example, the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Not only that, four-time world champion Max Verstappen will be starting from P3, right behind the two McLaren teammates. Also, McLaren will be cautious of the rain factor, which means they must turn up with a good strategy to ensure a double podium finish.

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Lando Norris ecstatic with McLaren's pace after winning pole in Australia

Lando Norris F1 Grand Prix Of Australia - Qualifying (Image Source: Getty)

Reigning constructors champions, McLaren had an outstanding qualifying session at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, with Lando Norris securing pole position. Oscar Piastri, the homeboy, finished P2, with the two teammates securing front row start comfortably.

That being said, after the session, Norris spoke to Sky Sports and lauded the car's pace.

"The car is extremely quick, and when you put it together, it's unbelievable, but it's just difficult to put it together."

He also acknowledged the threat of rain, as Max Verstappen, who finished P3, has got impressive skills of running on wet tyres.

"I'm confident the car is in a great position, but we have also never run in the wet. But we know how quick Max and Red Bull are in the rain. Let's see."

Lando Norris and Verstappen had a fierce championship battle in 2024, with the Dutchman winning his fourth title with a lead of 63 points. However, this year, Norris will begin the season on a clean slate with plenty of opportunities likely coming his way.