Norris shares Leclerc ‘happy’ concern in Singapore duel

Lando Norris admits he will be "quite worried" if Charles Leclerc is not "happy" with his quickest lap time from FP2 at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old finished that session just over half a tenth of a second faster than the Ferrari driver, and feels his weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit is "going well so far" after the pair also headed up the weekend-opening practice hour.

Known to often cut a more self-critical figure, Norris was upbeat about McLaren's prospects, despite hoping he could have enjoyed a bigger advantage over the Monegasque driver.

"Yeah, pace was good," the two-time grand prix winner told F1TV after the session. "I'm feeling good. It was also a nice lap. We're doing what we expect, I guess, to be up at the front and together with Ferrari.

"But It was a very nice lap, and Charles [Leclerc] is only like point eight behind [of a tenth of a second], so I was hoping to have a much bigger gap than what I had, honestly, which means they're quick, means Ferrari are very, very fast. But things are going well so far."

Norris 'quite worried' if Leclerc not 'happy'

However, Norris was clear that if Leclerc is not happy with the pace of his Ferrari, he may have cause for concern.

The British driver explained that one of McLaren's strengths is "just arriving and performing well, but then we tend not to progress as much as some of the other teams," signalling that he might not have much more to give, even if Leclerc does have pace in reserve.

"Charles is very good at street circuits," said Norris. "We've seen in Baku, we've seen in Monaco, where he's capable of doing. I'm sure he's probably quite happy with his lap.

"If he wasn't happy with his lap, I'm quite worried for [Saturday]. It was a nice lap for me, not a lot more in it, honestly. So, I felt like I got a lot out of Friday.

"But normally I prefer not being so good and then always having a bit extra going into Saturday, but a good start to the weekend, I think we're in a good place, and if we can keep it up, then I'll be happy."