Lando Norris clinched McLaren’s inaugural podium of the championship, securing third place in the MCL38, trailing just three seconds behind Charles Leclerc’s second-place Ferrari.
However, the outcome was largely unforeseen as pole-sitter Max Verstappen retired due to a brake fire shortly after being passed by Carlos Sainz for the lead.
As Verstappen’s performance waned and he lost positions, he limped towards the pit lane, eventually suffering a rear-right brake explosion, ending his race at Albert Park.
Ferrari capitalized on the opportunity, claiming first and second positions with Sainz taking the victory, while Norris joined them on the podium in third place.
McLaren team principal Stella believed McLaren would still have been competitive even if Verstappen had continued racing, suggesting that Norris might have been challenged by Leclerc during pit stops. Nonetheless, he was surprised by McLaren’s advantage over Mercedes and Aston Martin, who were battling for sixth place late in the race with Fernando Alonso and George Russell trailing behind Norris by over a minute.
Stella attributed the race dynamics to tire degradation, describing it as a “tyre-dominated race,” which was supported by Sainz. He emphasized that managing tire degradation played a significant role, with a car potentially gaining three to four-tenths of a second advantage if it experienced less degradation after 10 laps.
Despite Red Bull’s dominance in the opening rounds of the season, Stella expressed optimism, suggesting that their advantage was not as significant in Australia. He highlighted that McLaren was very close in performance, which bodes well for upcoming races, especially those with characteristics similar to Japan, where medium-high-speed corners favor McLaren’s strengths.