The 2025 Australian Grand Prix was a perfect weekend for Lando Norris, who secured pole position, the race win, and the fastest lap at the Melbourne circuit. The English McLaren driver ended that year by claiming his first world championship, a title he will now defend starting this weekend in Australia, sporting the #1 on the nose of his MCL40. It is a mission that the Woking team, winners of last year’s Constructors’ Championship, will also be focused on.
Excitement tempered with caution
In interviews with the media ahead of the first practice session, scheduled for 10:50 p.m. tomorrow, the reigning world champion first expressed his enthusiasm for the start of the new season. “I’m excited to be back,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed being here. It’s always a great place to kick off the season, the weather is nice, and it’s just another year to look forward to. There are plenty of opportunities, more races to try to win and celebrate. We did well in Bahrain; nothing overly exciting, but we know we are in a good position. I’m just excited to get started and we’ll learn more about our position over the next few days.”
Confidence in the team’s development
However, Lando Norris remains cautious. After pre-season testing, the champion noted that there are differences between this year’s car and the 2025 model, especially in the early stages of the season, while expressing confidence in the team’s work. “Certainly, I have good self-confidence, which is always a great way to start the season, as well as confidence in the team. We probably don’t have the same level of absolute speed confidence as we did at the start of last year, but we are confident in our ability to get back where we want to be over the course of the season. It’s not like we come here and are guaranteed to win, but in recent years, especially two or three years ago, we’ve managed to turn things around in a season that revolved around development and upgrades, learning the cars. That has been one of our biggest strengths over the past years. It doesn’t matter where we finish here, in China, or in the first races of the season: we are confident that over the year we will be able to get back to where we really want to be, and it’s something everyone is looking forward to.”
As Lando Norris begins his journey to defend the world title, his measured approach reflects a mature champion who understands that the 2026 season is a marathon, not a sprint. While the initial pace in Melbourne may not mirror the dominance of last year, McLaren’s proven ability to out-develop their rivals remains their strongest card to play in this new technical era.
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