‘I don’t think in any way we’re superior’ – Norris plays down McLaren advantage as he predicts ‘tough’ weekend

Lando Norris has played down any suggestions of McLaren holding an advantage over their rivals ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, with the Briton predicting a “tough weekend” for the team in Melbourne.

After ending the 2024 season strongly by claiming the Teams’ Championship, McLaren caught the eye with a solid performance during pre-season testing in Bahrain, leading many to tip the Woking-based outfit as favourites for the new campaign.

LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the build-up ahead of the Australian Grand Prix weekend

However, while Norris is looking forward to getting the season underway this weekend at Albert Park, the 25-year-old was keen to downplay the idea that McLaren are the squad to beat as he spoke to media on Thursday.

“I’m happy, I’m excited to get going,” Norris explained. “I’m relaxed, which is probably the best thing of all. I feel calm, I feel ready to go – not in a… a lot of people would take that in the way of being confident. But I think we have a good car, we have a good car to start the season.

“I don’t think in any way we’re superior to any of our main competitors – there’s obviously been a lot of chat [about] that and a lot of things said over the past couple of weeks, but I really don’t think we’re any further ahead of our competitors than we were last season or that people think we are.

“I still think it’s going to be a tough weekend for us and we’re going to be fighting everyone, but I think we’re in a good position to start off in a strong way and in a confident way. That’s what we want to be in and that’s how we want to start the season.”

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With some of McLaren’s rivals suggesting that the reigning Teams’ Champions look strong, Norris was quizzed on whether he felt that the outfit’s competitors were playing mind games by making such remarks.

“I don’t know, I don’t know what they’re doing! They like a chat, that’s for sure!” Norris responded. “But who cares? It doesn’t matter – we’ll see tomorrow, we’ll see in the next few days. I think we’re in a good position – that’s clear, that’s obvious.

“We had a good test in Bahrain, but by no means do I think we are at all quicker than the others, especially in the low fuel running. I know that’s where you can hide more, but I also heard a lot of things about how much other people have been hiding and not showing.

“I think you’ll be surprised, just because I feel like the narrative is quite in one direction at the minute, which is nice to hear so many people talking about us. But I think from our side and a personal side, it’s not changed.

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“We don’t think we’re ahead of any of the other teams. I think we’re in a very similar ballpark to the three other main competitors, and we have to work hard to make sure we’re ahead of them this weekend.”

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