McLaren: a delighted and optimistic team
The cars have come to life at McLaren, with Oscar Piastri on pole for Sunday's race on March 23. Lando Norris, on the other hand, continues to point out the car's errors and complicated handling.

« I am very happy for Oscar. » These are the words of Lando Norris upon the arrival of his teammate during the qualifying session. The Australian secured the first pole position of his career.
But for the Briton, the gap between them and the others is not yet up to his expectations. Nevertheless, he says he felt more comfortable in the car and that it reassures him given the difficulties he has encountered so far.
A pace in Q3 that’s difficult for his opponents to sustain: Oscar secured his pole with great fluidity despite an unfavorable wind in sector 2. Zak Brown is as delighted as his drivers: « It’s great to have Oscar on pole for the first time; he’s been so close to the front row so many times, he gave us a mega lap! »
With the wind that picked up in Q2, one would have thought that pole position would be out of reach for McLaren, but the Australian proved otherwise by achieving a fairly good second sector and a perfect third. I feel like I delivered two pretty good laps. If you take my sector 3 from the second lap with my sectors 1 and 2 from my first lap, it would have been…
The team manager admits to being optimistic for this weekend: « We have everything we need here and I’m sure Lando, although a bit grumpy not being alongside Oscar, but you will be able to see it. » In a season that promises to be more than tight, having the pace is easy, but maintaining it is a different story. « We had a killer team of drivers and that’s what we’re seeing so far. » He concluded by saying he was surprised by George Russell’s performance, he was expecting more of a duel with Max Verstappen like the previous season. That is changing and Zak Brown is just as happy.
« I am very happy to have finished on pole. » That’s how Oscar Piastri concluded his interview.
Tomorrow, it’s up to Oscar Piastri to demonstrate that he can maintain the pace and manage his tires correctly. Lando Norris will also do everything to push his teammate and join him at the front.