“I managed to just unlock a bit of potential”: Lando Norris satisfied with a second row starting position at the 2024 F1 Australian GP

Lando Norris believes a second row start at the 2024 Australian GP race is a good indication of progress for the team. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the qualifying session, the Briton felt he had unlocked some potential from his car around the Albert Park circuit.

Qualifying seventh in Bahrain and sixth in Jeddah, Lando Norris and McLaren have had a slow start to their season. But with a fourth fastest lap in qualifying in Melbourne, the Briton has progressed to a second row start for the third race of the season.

Norris' qualifying laptime was a tenth of a second slower than Sergio Perez. However, the Mexican’s penalty for impeding Nico Hulkenberg has now promoted the 24-year-old to a third place on the grid. Speaking after the qualifying session to Sky Sports F1, Lando Norris said:

"I’m very happy. A good turnaround on a weekend I’ve not felt that comfortable with. And I felt like for the first time in a while, I managed to just unlock a bit of potential. Just that little feeling I get in qualifying when I push and things come towards you nicely, which I’ve not had in what feels like a long time. And I feel like I just got a little bit more of that back today. I’ve struggled to achieve that and it’s a rare occurrence these days."

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Lando Norris details changes McLaren made prior to 2024 Australian GP qualifying

Lando Norris revealed McLaren made several changes to the car setup prior to the qualifying session. He claimed that he struggled with balance throughout the weekend and the changes made to his car worked wonders.

The qualifying session at Albert Circuit has been the best one for the McLaren driver since the Qatar GP in 2023.

Describing his qualifying performance in a team release, Lando Norris said:

“I think we made a good turnaround. I’ve been struggling a little bit all weekend with balance. We changed quite a bit going into today and made some good steps forward, so I’m now feeling much happier. I felt like I got a bit more comfortable with the car, and as soon as that happens, I can roll-out some speed. So, a big thanks to everyone here at track and back in Woking for their help overnight. A good day, a good position and hopefully we can transfer it into good points tomorrow.”

Asked by F1 TV if he expected to qualify fourth, Norris admitted that he was not expecting to end ahead of Charles Leclerc, who aborted his lap after facing understeer on his final attempt. He said:

“I would say so. It’s probably better than I was expecting, honestly. [I thought] two Ferraris, two Red Bulls, I didn’t expect to be ahead of one of them. It was Charles, so probably even more of a surprise.”

After the turnaround in performance in 2023, McLaren were expected to be closer to Ferrari and Red Bull in 2024. With delays to their development, the Woking based squad have started 2024 on a better footing than last year but are expected to get competitive as the season progresses. They are currently third in the constructors championship with a total of 28 points. Lando Norris will start third on the grid while teammate Oscar Piastri will start sixth.