Australian GP: Lando Norris, and qualifying stories

"I have to make sure I cherish that," says Norris while he qualifies P8 for McLaren; More a summary of the ups and downs of other teams …

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Lando Norris of McLaren responded after qualifying eighth for McLaren.

British rookie Lando Norris had a superb first qualifying session in Formula 1 as he finished eighth for McLaren at the GP of Australia.

The impressive 19-year-old driver, and the youngest rider in the grid this year, said he "maximized everything" and that he would "cherish" the result by becoming his skilled teammate Carlos Sainz, as well as several other experienced rivals.

Norris has also ensured that McLaren is in the top 10 Q3 shootings for the first time since the Monaco GP last year.

"Our goal was just to try to qualify for the second quarter," said Norris to heaven, delighted with his enthusiasm.

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"I was so nervous – and I almost enjoyed all the fun! But the pleasure comes when I know that I've completed a ride and that the team is happy and happy. "

Norris, who edged Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez in the finals, added: "I feel that I've really maximized everything.

"We have to do a lot of work to maintain these T3s.Today, it was not an isolated job but it will not happen all the time."

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"I have to make sure that I cherish that.For the moment, I am very happy but I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow."

McLaren was ahead of Renault engine builders on Saturday, but would have liked to see Sainz further down the grid.

Sainz was eliminated in Q1 after being held by Robert Kubica, who suffered a puncture on his last flight lap.

As a result, Zak Brown had mixed feelings, but admitted that McLaren's return to Q3 was his best day in the Grand Prix since joining the team in late 2016.

"I would say that today was probably my most enjoyable day on the race track," said McLaren's general manager. "We are having good and bad days, the day has been good, but I am personally delighted to see everyone coming together."

Leclerc is responsible for the errors of Q3
At Ferrari, the disappointment against Mercedes was palpable, the team's dissatisfaction being aggravated by Charles Leclerc, then lost fourth place on the grid against Max Verstappen.

"I'm not happy with myself, I did not do the work in Q3, and in the second run, I made a mistake, I found myself stuck in the first corner and it was was a very complicated trick.

"The first three were really there."

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Hulkenberg in front of Ricciardo, Renault in trouble?
At Renault, Daniel Ricciardo was beaten by Nico Hulkenberg in the first qualifying battle face to face. But the main topic of discussion was the failure of either Renault driver in the top 10, while Enstone's formation languished behind six teams – Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Haas, McLaren, Alfa Romeo and Racing Point – in the timesheets.

"I knew it would be tight but I thought we had the pace for the third quarter," Ricciardo said. "I was only half a tenth to enter Q3 and I know it was in the car because I lost it in the first sector, so I was more disappointed with myself."

But Ricciardo added, "I'm more optimistic for the race, I'm sure we'll sneak in the points."

Gasly's first nightmare
Pierre Gasly provided one of the qualifying shocks since he was eliminated from T1 by the Red Bull.

The team must be blamed more than the pilot: Red Bull has chosen to send his pilots only one lap with the wheel out and Gasly was one tenth of the teammate Max Verstappen. But that was not enough.

"We did not expect such an evolution of the track and the peloton will be as tight," said the Frenchman. "It's pretty hard because I was pretty happy with my knees."

He continued: "We are clearly not exactly where we would like to be."

Kimi disappointed by the return of Alfa Romeo
At Alfa Romeo, Antonio Giovinazzi dropped to the second stage after a Q2 elimination before Kimi Raikkonen took the ninth place in his first qualifier for the team. But the Finn was frustrated not to be further on the grid.

"I'm a little disappointed," Raikkonen told Sky F1. "The car had more speed but I did not have a good ride, there were two more easily ahead."

Barely a hundredth of a second separated Raikkonen from Norris, eighth.

"We have good potential," added Raikkonen. "I am very happy where I am."

Russell satisfied with his quality but Williams fight
George Russell, who, like Norris, was a British rookie in his first F1 qualifying session in Melbourne, also had the impression of making the most of his Saturday.

But while his experienced teammate, Robert Kubica, was outclbaded by Russell, he finished only 19th and 1.2 seconds on his closest rival in a poor Williams car.

"We know the pace of the car and my job is to drive the package we have as quickly as possible, and I really believe we have done that," he said. "The three laps I put together were really good, I felt … I crossed the finish line with a smile.

"I think we understand the limits and we know the problems, but that does not mean we can wake up tomorrow and solve the problem."

He added, "To be honest, I'm not really interested in beating Robert in 19. My goal is to work with Robert to try to lead the team in the right way."

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