San Francisco Frontiers - Pressure on Norris as Formula One enters new era in Melbourne

McLaren ace Norris began his drive to a maiden Formula One crown last year with victory at Melbourne's full-throttle Albert Park from pole, edging Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

It was an incident-packed race in the rain with the safety car repeatedly forced into action after a slew of crashes on the wet circuit.

Better weather is forecast this time but there will be as many, if not more, variables to deal with after a dramatic overhaul to both engine and chassis regulations.

With hybrid power units now roughly 50 percent thermal and 50 percent electric, there is more focus on battery management, prompting Max Verstappen to say driving felt like "Formula E on steroids".

The uncertainty of what to expect makes Melbourne one of the most anticipated races in years as drivers grapple with finding maximum performance in what are vastly different cars.

It also sees the grid expand from 20 cars to 22 with the debut of an 11th team in Cadillac, whose hopes rest on experienced pair Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.

- Battery tests drivers -

Britain's Norris, who narrowly clinched the championship at the season finale in Abu Dhabi in December from Australian teammate Oscar Piastri, has reservations about the new cars

"A lot of the driving is focused on just trying to get the battery to work properly and less focused on how can you as a driver get everything out of the car," he said.

But he added: "I still have fun and it's still the job that I love to do."

Pre-season testing at Barcelona and Bahrain suggested that the big four -- McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes -- would again dominate.

But teams were still hiding their full capabilities as they collected data on the power units and how the cars responded.

Along with defending the drivers' title, McLaren also hold the constructors' crown and team chief Zak Brown said they may not be at the very front of the pack.

"I think we'll be in the big four," he said. "I don't think we're in the front of the big four, but it's going to be a long season with a lot of development."

Mercedes caught the eye in Bahrain with a heavy lap load and fast times, with consensus in the paddock that they could be the team to beat in Melbourne.

- Feeling fast -

George Russell, who is again partnered by Kimi Antonelli, admitted his car was "feeling good".

"The new power units are feeling fast and we're making improvements every single day. However, we need to keep on improving the reliability," he said.

And while four-time world champion Verstappen initially blasted the new cars as "anti-racing", the 2023 Melbourne winner also told reporters: "Overall I'm very happy with the car -– in general we don't have too many problems, so that's been OK."

Red Bull have dispensed with Honda engines and are competing this season for the first time with their own factory-built power units.

This year Verstappen is joined by French driver Isack Hadjar, promoted to the number two seat after a successful rookie season with Racing Bulls.

Last year was a nightmare for Ferrari and its star drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, but the Scuderia are showing signs of turning the corner with a positive vibe in the team.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton said he felt more in sync with the SF-26 as he bids to put a miserable first season at Ferrari behind him.

"I generally feel, personally, in the best place that I've been in a long, long time," said the Briton, a two-time Melbourne winner.

"It's an exciting time with this new generation of car."

W.Carter--SFF