McLaren Locks Out Front Row in Australian Grand Prix Qualifying

McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri secured a front-row lockout in Australian Grand Prix qualifying, with George Russell suggesting they can already shift focus to next year's car due to their significant pace advantage.

McLaren's impressive performance in Australian Grand Prix qualifying has led Mercedes driver George Russell to suggest that they can already shift their focus to next year's car. After McLaren locked out the front row, with Lando Norris securing pole position alongside teammate Oscar Piastri, Russell praised their speed.

Russell believes that McLaren's significant advantage will be difficult for other teams to overcome. “They're in such an advantage because they can stop development now and go fully on '26 and it's difficult to overcome that gap,” Russell told reporters at Melbourne's Albert Park. He emphasized the challenges of bridging a substantial gap, saying, “If you've got a six-tenth advantage at the start of the year, nobody finds six tenths throughout the year.”

Russell acknowledged that McLaren is well-positioned for both the current season and the future. “So, McLaren is in prime position for now and the future,” he said. While he expects a competitive race on Sunday, Russell anticipates that McLaren's gap could increase in dry conditions. “Tomorrow is anybody's game, as it always is in the rain, but if it was dry I expect that gap from McLaren to probably increase in race pace,” he added.

LANDO NORRIS TAKES POLE POSITION IN AUSTRALIA 👏👏#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/k6PwYVHBHU

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 15, 2025

The forecast for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix is wet, which could mix up the field. McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will start from the front row, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen right behind in third place, albeit 0.485 seconds off pole. George Russell qualified fourth, 0.6 seconds off the pace.

Verstappen was cautious about his car's long-run pace, saying, “I don’t expect miracles but I think it’s okay. Not on the same level (as McLaren) but I’ll just do my best and see what happens tomorrow.” He acknowledged that McLaren's pace was impressive, but he is focused on doing his best in the race.

Lando Norris is now 1 of 5 active pilots with 10+ pole positions 🙌

104 | 🇬🇧 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
40 | 🇳🇱 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
26 | 🇲🇨 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
22 | 🇪🇸 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
10 | 🇬🇧… pic.twitter.com/JSb4AsSPJZ

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) March 15, 2025

Piastri and Norris both expressed surprise that Ferrari had not been quicker in qualifying. Charles Leclerc qualified seventh, and Lewis Hamilton eighth. Piastri said, “Going into qualifying, we expected Ferrari to be our biggest challenge. Maybe we just took more sandbags out than everyone else. I don’t know. I was pleasantly surprised by the pace we had in qualifying.”

Piastri also downplayed McLaren's dominant performance, saying, “Obviously, the headline now is probably going to be 'McLaren is by far the quickest' but I think it will change a lot over the next few races. It’s going to be a good fight. I expect Ferrari to be fast and competitive through the year.” He anticipates a close battle between the top teams in the coming races.