McLaren reveal reason behind 'tense' Max Verstappen v Lando Norris fight

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has explained why Max Verstappen came close to stealing an Australian Grand Prix victory from Lando Norris.

At the chequered flag of a chaotic race at Melbourne's Albert Park, in which there were six crashes as the weather wreaked havoc on a slippery circuit, Verstappen finished 0.895s adrift of Norris.

Following a switch to intermediate tyres after a late race rain burst, and after a safety car period to clear away the stricken cars of Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Liam Lawson and Stake's Gabriel Bortoleto, it left a five-lap battle to the finish for the four-time F1 champion and Norris.

Over the closing two laps, in particular, and with the aid of DRS, Verstappen was given a glimmer of hope, but around a circuit at which it is difficult to overtake, he was unable to find a way past to claim victory.

It was a surprising tussle given how Norris pulled away from Verstappen on inters after the opening couple of laps.

Stella has revealed it was due to the floor on Norris' MCL39 being "pretty badly damaged". That occurred when Norris ran wide at Turn 12 just as the rain hit or in another late run over the concrete kerb at Turn 6.

The performance of Norris' car was validated by the fact team-mate Oscar Piastri made a late surge to finish ninth after his off at Turn 12 on lap 44, and subsequent struggles on the grass at Turn 13, that relegated him out of the top 10.

"He lost aerodynamic performance, and this meant he couldn't utilise the full pace of the car," said Stella, speaking to media, including RacingNews365.

"I think the situation got more tense, than would normally have been the case, because of this damage to Lando's car. I think how strong the car was.

"We could see with Oscar, who in the space of a few laps recovered three or four positions, how strong the car was. So I think, in normal circumstances, it shouldn't have been that difficult for Lando."

Stella confirmed the "step down in aerodynamic performance", after looking through the data, would confirm where Norris encountered the floor damage.