Norris: I'm surprised because there was a lot left in the lap

But no surprise there as he and Imola have gelled well; last year he was third in a race also with challenging conditions, which Norris seems to revel in. In the sister car, Daniel Ricciardo was sixth at the end of quali.

Speaking in parc ferme after a red flag infested qualifying session that dragged on and on, as several drivers were caught out in the varying conditions on Friday late afternoon in and engulfing the surrounding greater Imola and Maranello areas.

Notably, Norris was the last to slip off the track as he made a gutsy charge for pole position when the conditions had levelled the playing field to allow for that, but he beached it on his last attempt in the dying moments on an increasingly wet track, negating a restart as time had all but run out.

Chuffed with the unexpected result, after the session, Norris said during his parc ferme interview: "Of course, I am very happy I am top three which is quite a surprise for us but there was a lot left in the lap.

"I was trying to get the tyres to temperature but I just pushed too hard on the outlap. It was a shame because there was a chance, at least, to maybe have a go at Charles.

"It is difficult to say because everyone can say they would improve but there was a possibility of us to go forwards even more because the car was feeling good and I was feeling confident so it is a shame it ended like that but a good position for tomorrow."

The 22-year-old continued: "These conditions made a big difference for us today because if it was completely dry, we wouldn't be in third place. We made the most of today, of course, and we have given ourselves the best opportunity to score some points which is the aim."

Reflecting later in the McLaren team report he added: "I’m a bit surprised by but I think a lot of other people made some mistakes and we took advantage of that. To be honest, I made quite a few mistakes as well.

"There was a chance we maybe could have done a little bit better, I think there was a bit left in it at the end and it would have been nice to go for that lap and attack one more time, but I just made a mistake and caught the white line.

"Apart from that, I’m happy and in a good position for the race," declared Norris.

His McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo was also there or thereabouts all session, but in Q3 when it mattered he was six tenths shy of his teammate's best effort and will start from sixth on the grid.

But the Australian admitted: "I feel a little hurt because I think pretty much everyone in front of me did two laps and I just got the one because of the red flags.

"With the improvements on the second lap, I really feel I could be significantly further up, but that’s alright. I’m happy we had good pace and happy we’re in a good position and up the pointy end.

"We’ll fight hard for the rest of the weekend and I’m looking forward to the Sprint. It’ll be fun," concluded Daniel, who is in a good place to "f@ck sh!t up" as he did at Monza last year, with a bit of luck of course.

To start with, beating Norris will be a tough ask but if the Imola Sprint Race on Saturday or Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday is anything like today's qualifying - anything can happen - expect a McLaren or two in there!