Norris 'very Happy' Despite Missing Out On Pole

Miami Grand Prix

Venue: Miami International Autodrome Date: 4 May Race start: 21:00 BST connected Sunday

Coverage: Live commentary connected BBC Radio 5 Live from 20:00; unrecorded matter updates connected BBC Sport website and app

McLaren's Lando Norris said he was "very happy" aft qualifying astatine nan Miami Grand Prix, contempt losing retired connected rod position to Max Verstappen.

Norris ended up 0.065 seconds from nan Red Bull driver and, while his restitution was mixed pinch immoderate frustration, it was based connected his emotion that he has made advancement pinch immoderate of nan problems pinch which he has been struggling this season.

The Briton has been unfastened astir nan truth he finds his McLaren car does not 'talk to him' successful nan measurement he would for illustration erstwhile being pushed to nan absolute limit connected a qualifying lap.

And while he again made a correction that he felt costs him rod position, their connection has been amended this play astatine nan Hard Rock Stadium.

Norris, who won Saturday's sprint race, said that "Max did a Max thigh erstwhile again and I can't responsibility him". So successful nan discourse of that, and his ain weekend, 2nd was not excessively bad.

"I'm very happy pinch nan extremity result," Norris said. "Just a shame erstwhile you miss retired connected pole, truthful that's nan only frustrating bit.

"But I've been trying different things, I've been doing different things pinch nan squad to effort and activity a spot much successful this area and things person been taking a measurement forward. So I'm happy. Maybe not rather location yet, but happy pinch nan progress."

His team-mate Oscar Piastri, too, felt he should person been successful nan conflict for rod pinch Verstappen.

But nan Australian, starring nan title by 9 points aft his 3rd triumph of nan play successful Saudi Arabia past clip out, said he was 4th because of "poor execution".

Piastri added: "The spread has ever been close, and our advantage has been a small much connected Sundays, but our image of wherever we guidelines is that if we make mistakes we are going to beryllium beaten and that's been existent done nan year."

Team main Andrea Stella says McLaren person now seen capable of a shape to activity retired what has been happening to let Verstappen to return 3 poles successful six races.

"We person now capable statistic to corroborate what was already our first belief successful Bahrain during nan (pre-season) test," Stella said, "that nan car was easier to utilization successful position of capacity successful title simulation runs, alternatively than connected a azygous thigh pinch qualifying trim and caller tyres.

"We person seen that beautiful overmuch truthful acold we haven't had immoderate cleanable lap.

"We are decidedly trying to measure connected a coagulated engineering ground our knowing truthful that we tin make immoderate adjustments that our drivers tin trial to spot if we tin springiness them a car that is conscionable somewhat much predictable and rich | of accusation successful position of really nan grip is erstwhile driving nan car astatine nan limit."

He added: "Just to make judge that my constituent is clear, it's a car that doesn't springiness you overmuch 'cueing', which is nan method connection we use, and this intends that it's not easy for our drivers to repetition immoderate large performances that we tin spot successful individual laps."

Upgrades are coming to effort to lick this, and Red Bull person their ain successful Miami, a caller level that is nan first of a number of developments they dream will let Verstappen to situation nan McLaren drivers much consistently successful races.

"What we are trying to execute of people is simply a amended equilibrium successful nan car," Verstappen said. "Now this way is not ever nan easiest to opportunity that you person improved aliases nailed thing because it's conscionable a really weird layout I would say. So it takes a spot much time.

"But for judge it was not negative. And yeah, from present we tin activity and effort to amended it further because from my feeling, of course, we're not location yet. We request rather a spot much to beryllium really successful a fight."

In McLaren's view, Red Bull person not been coating nan astir meticulous image of nan competitory image betwixt nan 2 teams.

"Red Bull, they are very bully astatine making accelerated cars," Stella said. "They are very exceptionally good, I would say, astatine driving accelerated cars, and they are highly bully besides successful creating nan communicative to their advantage.

"They utilization each imaginable opportunity to enactment successful nan competition, and immoderate of these opportunities sometimes is to create nan narrative, like, 'oh, we are making miracles here, nan others should triumph each azygous believe convention and qualifying and race.'

"This is nan communicative created by immoderate of our competitors, which we publication occasionally and past we alteration nan page and we attraction connected ourselves."

The grid sets up an intriguing race. The title contenders are successful reverse order, pinch an interloper betwixt Norris and Piastri successful nan shape of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.

And Norris scents an opportunity to nail his first triumph since nan opening title of nan play successful Australia backmost successful March.

In qualifying, he made errors astatine nan past area connected some his laps, each clip costing astir 0.2secs, truthful he knows nan gait is successful nan car.

"Max has ever been bully successful qualifying and arsenic a squad we person struggled a small much successful qualifying, whether that's set-up aliases what, I'm not excessively sure," Norris said.

"We cognize nan Red Bulls are moving precocious downforce, which allows them particularly pinch nan DRS (in qualifying) to beryllium a batch much competitive. But it's a agelong title and we cognize we person bully gait successful some conditions.

"I don't conscionable expect title from Max. Kimi's been speedy each play and Oscar has been arsenic well. So yeah, I conscionable expect a reliable title from each accounts."