Chinese Grand Prix Thursday press conference

The perfect start for McLaren, which suggests good things to come and finally puts an end to all those years when the first half of the season was very difficult. Despite his victory, Norris and the team did not celebrate.

I didn’t celebrate anything at all in Melbourne, I went to Taiwan to prepare and relax a bit.

Regarding his confidence, he still hopes to do better than last weekend: « I hope it will be a bit easier (laugh). I think we had an excellent race. You know the gap we had with our competitors. I believe that midway through the race we were 15 seconds ahead, I’m not quite sure. They were lucky there was a safety car to bring them back to us. We remain hopeful, it’s another race, it’s very different. I wouldn’t say we are confident that things will go exactly as planned, but I expect a bit more competition from Ferrari. […] Certainly, we have an advantage, but they are not very far behind. »

The areas to improve on the car and its technique according to him: « My starts are good, but clearly not perfect. The car is very high-performing, but still very complicated to drive with Oscar. We know it’s much better in almost every aspect, but we always want more. In wet conditions, for example, Max was faster than us, but in dry conditions, we are ahead.

Norris keeps in mind that, despite a first race far from the top 5, the Ferraris can always come back.

Alex Albon was not surprised by the pace the car gave him last week in Melbourne:

I think that, to get the Ferraris into qualifying, yes, it surprised me a little, but I think we have always considered ourselves the best of the midfield. I think Racing Bulls and Alpine were perhaps closer to us than we had estimated, but it’s a very good thing, and we were generally more comfortable in the car. My feeling in the car is much better, even if there is a bit more aerodynamic downforce on the car and it’s more usable, and it’s on this point that we are gaining confidence.

Regarding the new performances of Williams and the new configurations and his overall feel in the car, he expresses good optimism: « I think the car is better with race setups than with qualifying setups. We have focused much more on race setups this year. We are quite strong on long stints compared to other midfield cars. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t helped us, and in China, it will be the same, even though the weather is a bit more predictable here. […] By the way, I must say that Carlos was a great help on Sunday. […] But this weekend, we will really be able to see where the car stands. »

Isack Hadjar reflected on his very challenging weekend in Melbourne. A week later, he explains his progress despite the difficulties: Already by Monday, I felt better knowing there is another race this week. I didn’t have time to dwell on that moment, so I got over it quite quickly. Last weekend, I would say we were surprisingly faster than we had anticipated […] The car was really good, and right from the free practice sessions, I had a very good feeling at the wheel. There were many positive points in terms of performance.

He then spoke about his expectations for the weekend on a track he isn’t really familiar with:

« I know the circuit very well thanks to the simulator, it’s a track I’ve been familiar with since I was a child; I used to play on it with the PS3 […] I’m quite excited to drive here, let’s see what happens. » This will be the Frenchman’s first Grand Prix in the sprint format. « I would say that in terms of approach, I’m quite used to sprints over the last 3 years, I know how to do things well, but of course I would still like to have more free practice sessions. »

**The double world champion Alonso** shared his impressions in Melbourne and the potential of the car.

« It’s very difficult to know exactly. The qualifications weren’t bad, I think that until the damage in Q2, we were competitive, but then, during the race, it was very difficult to judge the car’s performance. We simply followed the car in front and took care of the tires while waiting for the track to dry. I think we still need to wait several more races and tracks before we really have a better idea. »

We will do our best and I will try to score my first points, I’m looking forward to it, it’s one of the best layouts of the year, it’s a great track for us in terms of driving.

About Gabriel Bortoleto, of whom he is the manager: « He has been impressive and good, but no surprise to me, he is the best of the new generation with Ollie (laughs). He is very well-prepared, he did a great job all winter. Melbourne is clearly not the best track to start with. »

The Brazilian Bortoleto first expressed his gratitude towards Fernando, then spoke about his weekend in Melbourne, which he is very satisfied with: « I think I was solid throughout the weekend and improved as the sessions went on. The race was very tricky, and fortunately, there won’t be another race as difficult as this one. I now know better how to behave in the rain, when to push or take the risk… »

For him too, as a rookie, this will be his first sprint, but it doesn’t scare him that much:

« I think it will be a bit like a return to F2 at a test session (he laughs while looking at Bearman). It just leaves me with less time and practice to understand the circuit. » He assures that he will do his best and is counting on quite a few laps in FP1 to really get to grips with the track.

Oliver Bearman also experienced a nightmare weekend in Melbourne. He admits that besides technical issues, he doesn’t make life easier by making mistakes: « I’m happy that we finished the race. Obviously, we weren’t as competitive as we would have liked, but I was able to collect data. I hope we have dry weather to see if what we learned, we can put into practice. »

« It’s a sprint weekend and a new track for me, even though the track is incredible on the simulator, I’m really looking forward to driving here. For me, it will be important to get up to speed quickly and be present for the sprint qualifying. »

McLaren, despite its success, remains cautious and focused on continuous improvement. Williams shows cautious optimism about its progress, while the young drivers, despite the challenges faced, demonstrate resilience and enthusiasm. Alonso, drawing on his experience, calls for patience before jumping to hasty conclusions.