Lando Norris Praises McLaren As Driver Surpasses Charles Leclerc In Standings
Lando Norris finally put some points on the board at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend amid the ongoing struggles with McLaren, and with just one race with points the British-Belgian driver has already overtaken Charles Leclerc in the drivers' championship.
The British team has had a difficult start to the year with the McLaren MCL60 failing to have the performance to be competitive in the field. Oscar Piastri was forced to retire from the first race in Bahrain with electrical issues whilst Norris had to pit six times suffering from a pneumatic leak.
Both Piastri and Norris suffered from damage to their cars at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix causing them to finish in fifteenth and seventeenth, respectively.
So, the team were clearly over the moon with Norris finishing sixth and Piastri eighth this weekend, finally getting some points under their belt. During his post-race interview, Norris reflected on the moment, explaining:
"A very good race. We had good pace throughout, stayed out of trouble with no mistakes. The team did a very good job. I think the pace today was stronger than our qualifying pace yesterday, so things came together nicely. Just a well-executed race.
“I’m happy with all of that, and it's the first points for us this season. It's nice to get on the board and it's a good end to the first few races before we have a bit of a break and then head into Baku and the next batch of races.
"I’m happy, so a big thanks to the whole team and everyone back at the factory for all the hard work as usual and we’ll keep pushing.”
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc, who was one of the championship favourites in 2022, has also had a difficult start to the season. The Monegasque driver was forced to retire from both the Bahrain and Australian Grand Prix and was only able to finish seventh in Saudi Arabia.
After the first three races, Leclerc is currently sitting in tenth place in the drivers' championship with 6 points, whereas Norris is in eighth with 8 points.