Lando Norris feels the midfield battle is "closer than people think"

Lando Norris believes that the battle in the midfield of the F1 grid is much closer than everyone thinks. This comes after Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz both secured a place on the podium last time out in Brazil.

McLaren is ahead in the battle of the midfield teams after a strong season, fighting off the competition of Renault and Toro Rosso.

 “I think when it comes to the race, comparing our race pace to Racing Point, now, and Renault, I think it’s much more equal than what everyone thinks. We don’t have an advantage.

 "I think just because we qualify well, everyone thinks we should have a good car in the race, but it’s not like that.

“I think we’ve been good in qualifying, which is a good bonus for us because it sets us up well for the race every time, and always in a good position. 

"You can have clean air now and then. We’re able to not show as easily our weaknesses, or it kind of hides because we have clean air and the others are stuck behind us.”

Going into the final race, Norris is eleventh in the drivers' standings, just one point behind Sergio Perez in tenth.