Lando Norris believes he and McLaren had the potential to qualify second, ahead of World Championship leader Charles Leclerc, at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The young Briton will start the Sprint race in third, behind only Leclerc and Max Verstappen, after his best qualifying performance of the season so far. There is a long way to go between qualifying and Sunday's chequered flag, with Saturday's Sprint standing in the way. But after crashing his car in Q3, Norris was left wondering what could have been for his team. "There was a lot left in the lap. I just tried to get the tyres [up to] temperature, but I pushed too hard on the out lap," said Norris. "It's a shame, because there was a chance, at least, to maybe have a go at Charles. "It is difficult to say, because I'm sure that everyone can say they improved, but there was a possibility for us to go forwards even more."
Norris says McLaren are getting better and better
McLaren's results have gradually improved ever since they arrived in Bahrain nursing big brake problems. Norris and Ricciardo scored points in Australia and will now both start the Sprint at Imola inside the top 10. "I'm happy. I'm top three, which is quite a surprise for us," Norris continued. "The car was feeling good and I was feeling confident. [It's getting] better and better, but at some point that stops. "These conditions made a big difference for us today, and I think that's why we're in the position we are. I think if it was completely dry, we wouldn't be in third place. "We made the most of today, of course, and we've given ourselves the best opportunity to score some good points this weekend."
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