Lando Norris rues 'too many inconsistencies' despite strong showing during Friday practice in Australia

McLaren's Lando Norris was left to rue "too many inconsistencies" and "too many problems" on low fuel runs in Australia, despite a strong set of times on the first day of practice.

The Briton, who is seen by many as the favourite to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, had set the pace earlier in the day during the first practice hour at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. However, it was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who slotted into the top slot in FP2 with Norris in third behind his McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri.

FP2: Leclerc sets the pace ahead of Piastri and Norris during second practice in Australia

While Norris did acknowledge it had been a good start in Melbourne, he emphasized that there are still some areas for improvement on the MCL39 ahead of Saturday's Qualifying session, particularly in terms of the low fuel running.

Asked how things had felt out on track, he answered: “So-so. I think it’s been a good start to the weekend. We’ve got a good baseline, but certainly not happy or confident with the car in terms of finding the best balance and being consistent enough, especially on low fuel.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 14: Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren prepares to drive prior — Norris cautioned that there were some "inconsistencies" with McLaren's low fuel running

“I feel like [on the] high fuel, I felt good, [but] just low fuel, similar to Bahrain – too many inconsistencies, too many problems, so a bit of a struggle.”

When asked whether it is still too early to assume that McLaren will enjoy a positive level of performance in the season ahead, Norris hinted at how close the battle could be as he responded: “I don’t know what positive means, but I think we’ll be strong.

HIGHLIGHTS: Relive FP2 in Australia as Ferrari driver Leclerc edges out McLaren rivals Piastri and Norris

“I think, like we said the whole time, we’ll be strong, Ferrari will be strong, Mercedes [too]. I don’t know, we’ll wait and see.”

For home favourite Piastri, the situation felt more positive as he labelled Friday a “pretty encouraging” day after jumping out of the car.

“I think the pace was pretty solid, still a few things to try and iron out to make the car feel a bit nicer," he said.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 14: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes — Piastri believes that McLaren have "solid" pace after a good showing on Friday in Australia

“I think the underlying pace seems strong. I’m pretty happy with the day’s work. I think it’s going to be pretty different for the next two days, so how much today means, we don’t know, but it feels pretty good.”

When pushed on how confident he is of standing on the podium in front of his local fans, Piastri conceded: “It’s hard to say. The weather’s going to be pretty different on Sunday and that’s going to throw some spanners in the works, but I think the underlying pace of the car seems strong.

“Ferrari have looked pretty quick today and Mercedes at other points as well. Things are looking good, but we don’t want to just try and aim for the podium, we want to aim for the top step.”