Albert Park Circuit, Sunday, 24 March

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as Team Principal Andrea Stella, after the Australian Grand Prix.

As is happened:

• Lando and Oscar hold their positions as the lights go out, remaining P3 and P5, respectively 
• Verstappen retires from second with mechanical problems, promoting Lando to second and Oscar to third
• Oscar boxes for fresh tyres on Lap 9, switching to Hards
• Lando waits another five laps and heads in on Lap 14, also switching to the Hard. He slots into fourth behind Oscar 
• As Oscar begins to struggle with tyre wear, he and Lando switch positions 
• Oscar pits on Lap 39, bolting on another set of Hards, returning in fifth behind Alonso 
• Lando takes on another fresh set of Hards on Lap 40 and rejoins in third, four seconds off Leclerc
• Lando clinches third at the flag, scoring McLaren's first podium of the season and their first in Australia for 10 years 
• Oscar comfortably holds onto fourth to notch his highest finish in Australia to date 

Started	3rd
Finished	3rd
Fastest lap	1m19.915s on Lap 49 (+0.102s, 2nd)
Pit stops	2, Lap 14 [Medium/Hard] (2.6s) and Lap 40 [Hard/Hard] (2.6s)

“Our first podium of the season! It was a very good day for us. P3, P4 and lots of points in the championship. I think our pace was strong today, but Ferrari and Carlos did a very good job, so hats off to them. They’ve been fast all weekend. The car felt good, and I could manage the tyres very well today, and that was a good step.  

“It’s clear that this circuit suits us a little bit more, so we’ve been able to push and unlock a little bit of speed. But Ferrari and Red Bull are still one or two steps ahead of us, so we need to catch up. A big thanks to everyone in McLaren, they’ve been working incredibly hard. We’re getting closer to our target. I wasn’t expecting to be on the podium but it’s nice to be back, I’m very happy and proud of our team. Hopefully, we can have many more.”

Started	5th
Finished	4th
Fastest lap	1m20.199s on Lap 54 (+0.386s, 4th)
Pit stops	2, Lap 9 [Medium/Hard] (2.4s) and Lap 39 [Hard/Hard] (3.4s)

“P4. A good result for us. I think the pace was good the whole way through. I struggled a little bit on the first set of Hards, I just grained them a little bit and then had a little bit of a moment. I think it was a very good day in terms of points for the team. I don't think there was too much we could have done on my side, so yeah, I’m pretty happy. So close to a podium but it will come. Lando did a great job today getting the P3. All in all, a successful week at home.”

“Our first podium of the season has come with a very strong performance here in Australia. Albert Park definitely seemed to suit the MCL38 but finishing P3 and P4 also required the team to do an amazing job delivering performance and reliability, while the drivers were excellent today in how they coped with the tyres.  

“It is a big team effort, on both sides of the world. I would like to thank all the men and women at McLaren and HPP who have worked very hard so far to consolidate and continue the positive journey that we started in 2023. I hope the team at home, and our partners, enjoy this podium as much as the trackside team. We now look ahead to our next double header starting in Japan.”