Daniel Ricciardo (P6, 8 pts): 8/10
After all the turmoil of contracting COVID and missing the whole of the pre-season test in Bahrain, followed by a woeful performance for McLaren in the season opener, it now feels that the team and Daniel Ricciardo especially are back on track in 2022. A 'best of the rest' drive this week in Melbourne for both him and Lando Norris put them behind only Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. Ricciardo was doubtless boosted by the huge groundswell of the Aussie fans cheering their hero along in record numbers from the grandstand, but sometimes that sort of spotlight can be an extra pressure and take its toll. Not this time though, with Ricciardo making the top ten in all three practice sessions and making it look entirely natural and almost effortless when he went on through to the final round of qualifying (although it was actually the first time he'd done so in 2022). He and Norris then seemed to take a 'safety in numbers' approach to the race, spending all but two laps running line astern with the two Mercedes cars within sight ahead. Ricciardo was stuck in second in that team formation, only briefly leading his team mate when Norris was first to pit before the second safety car came out. From there, an incident-free afternoon saw Ricciardo cross the line in sixth, professing himself satisfied after what he called the most convincing performance by McLaren so far this season. Whether that was thanks to the circuit, of if it's down to the team, making genuine progress with the MCL36, remains to be seen.
Lando Norris (P5, 10 pts): 8/10
The fact that both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo had such positive weekends in Australia is proof that the team has started to find its feet again after stumbling in Bahrain during testing and the season opener - although admittedly, part of that might be down to the MCL36 finding Albert Park more to its liking. Norris himself was stronger than his team mate throughout practice and qualifying in Melbourne, starting with P4 on Friday and even topping the timesheets in final practice when he was almost six tenths quicker than Ricciardo. Norris was also swift in qualifying, ending up ahead of both Mercedes cars on the grid as he lined up in fourth alongside Sergio Perez. Unfortunately the Silver Arrows conspired against him at the start of the race when the McLaren suffered a lack of grip off the line. He duly dropped two places to them, leaving him running in fifth just ahead of Ricciardo which is how it stayed for virtually the whole of the rest of the afternoon, save for two laps. Ricciardo was ahead only briefly during the round of pit stops. Together they made a confident show of it, although Norris said later that it hadn't been as problem-free as it might have appeared from the outside and said that there had been plenty of issues to sort out in the cockpit on the way to securing ten points.
