Lando Norris is under no illusions that his fourth place on the grid in Australia shows McLaren have solved their problems with their car.
Having been 1.4 seconds off pole position at each of the first two races, Norris was eight-tenths away from the front of the grid in Melbourne. That was good enough for a place on the second row of the grid.
He said the improvement was largely because the Albert Park track suits McLaren better than Bahrain and Jeddah did.
“We have to be honest, right, a lot of it is track,” he said. “Tarmac as well as can play a big difference and the type of tyre we use can make a big difference.”
However he admitted the team has also been able to get more out of its car in Australia. “Everyone’s working very hard to make some progress and maximise everything and I think that’s showing in the steps forward that we’re making.
“But when I say a step forward, it’s one tenth maybe two tenths, three tenths maximum. The rest of it, one second or so, is…