Lando Norris hands McLaren honest assessment after Ferrari and Mercedes defeat

Lando Norris has delivered an honest assessment of McLaren after being beaten by Ferrari and Mercedes in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

The reigning world champion had looked strong in practice but had to settle for fourth in qualifying, finishing three tenths adrift of polesitter George Russell.

In the race, Norris had enough pace to remain within touching distance of both Mercedes drivers, but he was well adrift of eventual winner Lewis Hamilton.

While the 26-year-old could keep the Mercedes duo in sight, he was unable to challenge them and ultimately ran fourth until Kimi Antonelli retired in the closing laps with a mechanical failure.

"Yeah, tough race," said Norris. "I did my best to keep up with these guys, but they were too quick. So we stayed there and gave ourselves a chance if anything happened, and we obviously got a bit lucky with Antonelli going out.

"But otherwise, I'm very happy. Very happy for the team, very happy to be back on the podium. So, a good day for us."

While Norris was pleased to return to the podium for the first time since Miami, he is aware that more is still needed to truly fight at the sharp end of the field.

Ferrari made another step forward in Barcelona with its latest upgrades, with Norris acknowledging that McLaren's rivals are currently doing a better job.

Asked what more is needed to beat Mercedes and Ferrari and start winning races, Norris replied: "Ah, just a little bit of everything at the minute.

"We're doing a good job as a team, and I think we're making good progress, but these guys are just doing a better job. So, we have to give credit to them and admit to ourselves that we've got to keep working hard and keep putting in the effort.

"But the whole team is doing that, so I'm very happy with them. We just have to keep our heads down and keep working, and we'll get there soon."