Norris: I effed it all up but there are positives

The 21-year-old Briton ended up seventh on the starting grid for Sunday's Formula One race at Imola, a place behind teammate Daniel Ricciardo, but it would have been third had he not had a lap deleted for exceeding track limits.

At the time, the lap would have been good enough to pitch Norris on to the front row, "I´m pretty disappointed, pretty annoyed with myself. The team did an awesome job, the car really came alive in quali. We made a lot of improvements from Friday but on that one lap that I don´t need to make a mistake on, I effed it all up."

Team principal Andreas Seidl said it was typical Norris, very self-critical, and he preferred to focus on the car's improved performance: "He did a sensational job in this qualifying session. He was flying. It's great to see how confident he feels in the car.

"He got a hug from me after the session, which he doesn't like, but I'm sure he will be fully focused tomorrow morning," revealed the McLaren F1 boss.

Norris added: "I'm gutted, but there are still a lot of positives to take away from today and hopefully we can convert them into a good result tomorrow."

The young McLaren driver's lap did not go unnoticed, after qualifying pole-winner Lewis Hamilton tweeted: "Nobody can knock you for giving it your all. Amazing lap, it's great to see you and the team shine. move on, let's race."