Lando Norris was frustrated following qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, describing his Saturday session as “not very good, not very nice” after securing fifth on the grid for the 2026 season opener.
While his competitor George Russell celebrated a commanding pole position for Mercedes, the McLaren driver endured a fraught path through qualifying at Albert Park. Plagued by a lack of running during practice and an incident in Q3, the Briton was left to rue a challenging start to the new set of regulations.
Reflecting on the handling of his new car, Norris pointed to a lack of predictability when pushing on the limit around the demanding Melbourne street circuit. The high-speed sweeping corners and unforgiving concrete barriers require absolute driver confidence, and this is something Norris is missing.
“Not very good, not very nice. I think George will be the only one saying it was nice,” Norris admitted to the media with a smile.
“It was inconsistent. One lap better, one lap not. It’s just tricky. I’ve been on the back foot from the start of the weekend. I’ve not done a lot of laps. A lot of issues on the car, which I wish we had less of. It happens.”
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The move to the heavily revised 2026 technical regulations has presented a steep learning curve up and down the pitlane. For McLaren, this opening weekend has been fraught with gremlins that have restricted Norris’s vital track time, leaving him playing catch-up ahead of Saturday.
McLaren’s 2026 F1 Struggles: Why Lando Norris Qualified Fifth in Melbourne
Despite his obvious frustration with the lack of mileage, Norris admitted that these teething problems are par for the course when debuting entirely new aerodynamic and mechanical machine.
“We are trying to work through them,” he explained regarding the garage’s ongoing efforts. “In some ways it’s an expectation at the start of the year to minimise them.”
As track evolution peaked and drivers pushed for their final flying laps, the Briton’s issues were compounded by him striking debris on the track from Antonelli’s car.
“Luck hasn’t been on my side so far this weekend, including in Q3 with the debris on track and breaking my front wing, so I’m pretty happy with my position,” Norris revealed.
Starting from fifth, Norris remains well-placed to score solid points on Sunday, especially given the unknown race pace, tyre degradation, and energy management under the new ruleset.
“With the lack of laps this weekend and just performance from the car, it’s made my life tricky.”
