Norris: P2 is as good as we can get at the moment

As was the case in the Sprint race on Saturday, Norris had to answer to Verstappen's lightening starts and rapid pace.

The start of the race saw Norris jump from sixth up to second after Charles Leclerc crashed out on the formation lap due to a hydraulic failure on his Ferrari, and after the race was Red-flagged following a crash between Alex Albon and Haas pair Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, Norris restarted from second but did not have a decent launch.

From there, he tried to chase Verstappen, but the latter always had an answer to the Briton's challenge with more pace in reserve when tyre preservation was not required.

In the end Norris had to settle for second, his seventh podium this Formula 1 season, and said afterwards in McLaren's race report: "A very good day, it couldn't have gone much better to be honest.

"Good pace, similar to yesterday, which is the main thing, and a much better start at the beginning to get from sixth to second. P2 is as good as we can get at the moment and for the time being, but I'm very happy to consistently be challenging for podiums.

"Thanks for everyone's hard work both at track and the factory in what's been a long but enjoyable triple header," Norris concluded.

Oscar Piastri was collateral damage from the first lap incident and sustained damage, and while McLaren made good use from the Red flag period to fix his car, he had to restart from the pitlane and finished 14th, two laps down.

"A difficult race for me today," the Australian lamented. "Unfortunately, it was essentially over before it began, after the contact from behind that I couldn't avoid.

"The team did an incredible job getting the car turned around to get me back out after the red flag. 71 laps at a circuit I haven't driven at before is extremely useful for my learning, and I hope to see the fruits of the team's hard work today when we return next year.

"After that, we just needed a safety car to unlock us, which sadly never came. On to the next one in Las Vegas," Piastri concluded.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella summed up his team's race, he said: "After a challenging afternoon for the team, we come away with strong points and more silverware.

"On Lando's side, we have somewhat mixed feelings. On the one hand we can be satisfied that he was the only car quick enough to contend with Verstappen.

"But over the course of the race, we have to accept that he still has a little bit of a performance advantage and we still have some work to do to close that gap. Overall, an impressive drive from Lando and important points for the team," the Italian explained.

As for Piastri, Stella said: "On Oscar's side, his race was unfortunately compromised after being caught up in someone else's incident at the start.

"The team did an exceptional job to repair the substantial damage to Oscar's car during the red flag and get him back out for the remainder of the race.

"Despite this, Oscar's car was still carrying damage to important aerodynamic components and carried a significant lap-time deficit throughout the entire race. Nevertheless, it was a useful exercise for him to gain experience at a track he has never raced at before," he maintained.

"After this long triple header, my thanks go to the entire team, both trackside and at MTC, and to our colleagues at HPP for their dedication and continued support," Stella went on. "We come away with 63 points from a selection of racetracks that we knew didn't necessarily suit our car, which is encouraging in terms of our general competitiveness.

"Time now to reset and prepare for the final double-header of the season, starting in Las Vegas in two weeks' time," the McLaren boss concluded.