Norris reveals key trigger behind McLaren performance leap in China

Norris recorded his best qualifying result of the season in any format by securing third place for the Sprint race in Shanghai. Reflecting on the session, the Briton admitted he was pleased with both the result and the competitiveness of the car.

“I'm just happy with the result. I've not seen what I lost or gained or whatever, but no, P3 is as good as we can do for the time being. I'm actually pretty happy to beat both the Ferraris today because they seemed pretty good the whole day, you know, so I'm satisfied,” Norris said via F1 TV.

The reigning world champion pointed to McLaren’s adaptability to the Shanghai circuit, as well as the demands placed on the power unit, as key factors behind the team’s encouraging performance during the session.

“Good position for tomorrow. Certainly things have been better this weekend just because the track is a lot more simple from our side of things, from a power unit side of things, so everyone kind of falls in line a bit more, but we certainly seemed to get a good amount out of it at the end and it was close, so a good lap put me in a good position,” Norris added.

Asked whether McLaren could use its often-strong race starts to challenge Mercedes at lights out in the Sprint, Norris tempered expectations. The 26-year-old, however, acknowledged the Mercedes team's reputation for strong getaways but admitted there could still be an opportunity if one presents itself.

“I mean, I don't expect them to get bad starts, to be honest. They've always, for years, been one of the best starters. It's an opportunity for sure. I think they know what they did wrong last weekend in Melbourne and they'll probably be fine tomorrow. But you never know. It's a good opportunity. It's the easiest place to ever take us off the line. So we'll see what we can do,” he concluded.

Norris qualified the best of the rest behind the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Teammate Oscar Piastri qualified in fifth place, under a tenth behind the British driver.

Earlier, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff identified McLaren as a team he expects to close the gap to his outfit soon.

The 54-year-old, in his assessment, pointed to the trajectory the papaya-coloured team are currently on, stressing his belief that they could catch up with the front-runners.

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