Lando Norris begins his F1 World Championship chase: “We’ll be ready for Melbourne”. The comments of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after the final day of testing in Bahrain.

Lando Norris heads to Melbourne as the favorite

Testing can only provide a rough indication of the balance of power between teams, but all opinions agree on McLaren’s current superiority, at least in race pace. In Bahrain, the MCL39 displayed a much stronger rhythm than its competitors, reaffirming the status it earned in the second half of 2024 as the benchmark car.

As the season opener in Melbourne approaches, it is clear who will be considered the favorite: Lando Norris, who will surely be eager to make up for last year, when he took many lessons from Max Verstappen despite having a superior car.

Lando Norris’ words

The Briton, who finished 11th on day three, is already thinking about Melbourne: “This morning, track conditions were much tougher with the wind and temperature. Once I felt comfortable, we were able to carry out our plan and gather more data. Now we’ll put everything together and analyze all we’ve completed over the past few days to ensure we are ready for Melbourne.”

Oscar Piastri’s words

“The tests are over, and I think these were three productive days,” added Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth today. “We tried many things and learned a lot. Some things went well, others still need improvement, but that’s what testing is for. The car ran almost perfectly, which is a good starting point. We have a lot to review before Melbourne, but I believe we’ll arrive in great shape.” – the Australian driver concluded.