Norris: Perez tried to go around the outside, which was stupid

Starting from the front row alongside polesitter Max Verstappen, Norris picked up a five-second penalty for his role in an early incident that saw Sergio Perez run off the track, costing the 23-year-old a shot at a second-place finish in the process.

Valtteri Bottas ended up finishing second, with Lewis Hamilton fourth after sustaining damage, with Norris admitting after the race that he was frustrated with Perez and the penalty, but happy to be on the podium once again.

“I’m disappointed because it should’ve been second place,” he said. “I thought that lap one was just racing, really.

"He tried to go around the outside, which was a bit stupid, and he just ran off the track himself, I didn’t even push him. I’m frustrated but I’m also happy with P3.

“We had good pace and I could keep up with Bottas a lot, even in dirty air, but not enough to get into the DRS. As soon as I got within or close to a second, I started struggling too much. Shoulda, woulda, coulda in the end.

“It’s nice to know that we can be there and we can race them — it was the first race in many years of actually racing the Mercedes and the Red Bulls. Hopefully we can keep it up next time.”

Asked about his view of the incident specifically, Norris said that he did not feel he deserved to be penalised.

“From my point of view, if I want to compare it to anything it’s the same as Max and Lewis in Imola," he added.

"It’s a restart, I expect Sergio knows there’s gravel on the exit of that corner, it’s downhill, easy to run wide and that’s just what happens. If you watch Formula 2 or Formula 3 or any category, people who go round the outside there and don’t commit to it end up in the gravel. That’s just the way that corner runs.

“So he took the risk and not me. He didn’t commit to his overtake the way he should have done and he put himself in the gravel. So I don’t feel like it was my mistake, but I don’t make the penalties.”