The young Brit got w๊ithin a tenth of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton in the battle for second place at ✅the Red Bull, ending qualifying in fourth.

Norr🦂is will start from third due to Bottas’ three-place grid penalty as a result of his pit lane spin in second practice on Friday.

Despite struggling ꦆfor outright pace in practice, Norris says he expected McLaren to perform well in qualifying.

“Yes, I thౠink we were expecting to be good and strong because we have been relatively decent all weekend – you know, Daniel was very fast yesterday in P2 and stuff. The car’s been good, and you know we always take a bit of a step into Q3,” Norris said.

“To be ahead of one of the Red Bulls, I would say, not𒀰 expected, because they’ve been very fast from Lap 1 here and miles ahead of us all weekend so It’s a similar story to Monaco or Baku or some tracks where we always looked way behind Mercedes or Red Bull🏅, but as the fuel loads come down, I think everyone’s car becomes more equal and more competitive and yes, sometimes it can surprise you a little bit and we can be ahead of them.

“It’s nice to know and under a tenth of both the Mercedes, which is a bit of a shock, because I think I can just ꦜstate a fact that they have more grip than us, and not that far behind. It’s weird to think of, but i👍t’s a good position, so I’m happy.”

Norris concedes it’s unlikely he🐬 will be able to hang onto third with Sergio Perez and Bottas right🌌 behind him on the grid and expected to have a stronger race pace.

“I mean it’s a similar story to a couple of years ago when I was into P2 or P3 and we were mixed with the Red Bulls and the Mercedes guys, and if ⛎there’s an opportunity, 100% I’ll go for it, but I still need to pick and choose my competitors and my racers carefully and not kill the tyres and things like that,” Norris added.

“So, we’ll wait and see. I think on paper, on Friday, they were quite a bit quicker than us – both the Mercedes and Red Bulls – so I’m not expecting to be supe𒅌r competitive against them but we still have a good chance to beat everyone else behind, so that’s the plan.”