"Like a pole position in some ways" – McLaren's Lando Norris calls P4 in qualifying for 2022 F1 Australian GP 'a very good result'

After two painful race weekends for McLaren in Bahrain and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Lando Norris has finally brought some much-needed hope to the team. The 22-year-old clinched his first second-row starting position of the 2022 season in Saturday's qualifying at the Albert Park Circuit.

In a post-qualifying press interaction, the Briton described the P4 result to be just as satisfying as the pole position, given the struggles of the team so far this season. He said:

“It was a very good result for us. It feels like a pole position in some ways from where we’ve been the last few weekends. To just scrape into Q2 in Bahrain and then to miss out in Q3 in Saudi, and now to be almost all the way up there [today] – I guess still a long way off the pace, but position-wise to be a lot way further up is nice to see.”

Emphasizing that he is still unsure of where the car truly stands in terms of progress, he added, saying:

“A good reward for myself, a good result for the team, so happy. Whether or not the car has made much progress or not is hard to say. I think we’ve been working well as a team to still try and find as much as possible and I think the hard work part of it has moved us ahead of Mercedes this weekend.”

Lando Norris will be starting the 2022 Australian Grand Prix behind pole-sitter Charles Leclerc and both Red Bulls, while his team-mate and local hero Daniel Ricciardo will start in seventh. This marks the first qualifying session of the year where both McLarens made it to Q3.

---

"I look forward to it" - Lando Norris on fighting Alpine and Mercedes at the Australian Grand Prix

McLaren scored their first points of the season with Lando Norris' P7 finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix two weeks ago and are just about making their way up to the midfield. While the 22-year-old is thrilled to be starting at the front of the pack, he is cautious about Carlos Sainz, who will be starting in ninth, and is expecting a fight with Mercedes and Alpine.

The Briton said:

“I have one red car behind me which I am not expecting to be fighting too much, but I think a fight with the Mercedes and also the Alpines – the Alpines have probably looked a little bit quicker than us this weekend, especially with Fernando but he ended up in the wall. I am expecting still a fight from them and the Mercedes, so it’s not going to be an easy race but it’s part of it, it’s a good challenge and I look forward to it.”

Alpine and Mercedes seem to have decent pace to be fighting for the top of the midfield. McLaren can now hope to carve their place in the battles this weekend.