The data that should worry Verstappen and Red Bull in Norris fight

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix reinforced the suspicious from pre-season testing, and indeed qualifying, that it is McLaren with the fastest car in F1. 

This was perhaps best shown during the Melbourne race by the astonishing rate at which Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri pulled away at the front after the world champion Max Verstappen's mistake at Turn 11  allowed Piastri to squeak by.

Red Bull was burning through its tyres far quicker than the McLaren, which signals the MCL39 is kinder on its rubber than the RB21 - but in a further damning blow for Red Bull, Mercedes, and a firm fourth-fastest Ferrari, they are nowhere near McLaren.

On average, Verstappen had about a sixth-tenth deficit to Norris every lap, although this is helped by the alarming loss of lap-time once the Red Bull munched through its intermediate rubber.

But bigger alarm bells must be sounding down at Mercedes and Ferrari.

Owing to the pace of the two McLarens and Verstappen ahead and the Ferraris being bottled up in traffic, George Russell was about 1.2s per lap slower than Norris, with the Mercedes running in clear air. 

As for Ferrari, Charles Leclerc was 1.7s down and Lewis Hamilton a sobering 2.3s down on the McLaren on his first appearance in a grand prix as a Scuderia driver.

You can view the average lap times below, with the article continuing afterwards. All factors, including traffic, are taken into account. 

Tyre wear

Another boost in Norris' armour was the fact that his lap time spread was largely confined to a wind of about 1.5s across the race, compared to a wild 2s difference for the reigning world champion. 

This was not just the man, as Piastri in the sister machine also was able to pump in consistent lap times throughout, with his average being increased following that costly spin at Turn 13 in the rain. 

As Norris hinted at, he was dissatisfied that the gap between the rivals and McLaren was so big, indicating Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes needed to work harder to not have such a gap, something he used to describe the qualifying pace.

But perhaps, it will be Ferrari, who after a drubbing, will have the most pennies for their thoughts as the circus heads north to Shanghai next weekend. 

A shoutout must also go to Kimi Antonelli - who stormed from P16 on the grid to fourth after Mercedes appealed and overturned a five-second time penalty.

On a day four of the six rookies crashed out, Antonelli only had one minor spin and looked rapid, passing the eye-test as he carved through the field of slower traffic - and once in clear air, he had rapid pace. A good start.