Norris: We’re a long way off where we were in last few races

McLaren have been on an upward performance curve since Austria where Norris finished fourth, following that up by two podium in Britain and Hungary.

Ahead of this Formula 1 weekend in Belgium, Norris claimed the Spa-Francorchamps track should suit the upgraded MCL60, but qualifying on Friday showed the Papaya single seater is lacking some pace, while an off track excursion at the start of Q2, damaging the car's floor, did not help Norris' efforts, who was outqualified by teammate Oscar Piastri.

"I’m pretty happy actually," Norris told Formula 1's Official Website. "I think my laps were pretty reasonable, I just had a lot of damage after Q1, so it was a bit more of a struggle probably than some of the others.

"But to get into Q3 was already a good job by us, with the damage we had. My Q3 lap was decent, but not a lot more I think I could have done," he added.

As to what he expects for the Sprint day on Saturday, and Sunday's Grand Prix, he commented: "Too early to tell. We’re definitely not as quick… We’re a long way off where we were in the last few races.

"Our straight-line speed is pretty poor, but Oscar did a good… His middle sector is only two-tenths off Verstappen, who’s six-tenths quicker than everyone else in the middle sector.

"I think there are some positive signs, hopefully that turns into better race pace, but I think we would have been definitely more up there if I didn’t go off in Q1," Norris concluded.

Piastri was three tenths faster than his teammate in qualifying at Spa, and was featuring at the sharp end of the timing screens throughout, even setting the fastest time in Q2. He was sixth fastest in the end.

"It was decent," he labeled his qualifying efforts. "I think given the last two weekends, I almost feel a little bit disappointed with P6. We were having a very, very strong session, maybe the last part wasn’t amazing.

"I think as the track dried, it was getting more back to normal, let’s say," the rookie added, "but that’s not normal for me because I’ve never done a lap in an F1 car here! I think I was just lacking a bit of confidence at the end to push. It dried up maybe a bit more than I thought and I was quite enjoying the mixed conditions.

"It’s a shame that we can’t be a bit higher, it’s obviously quite close, but it’s in a decent spot for Sunday. Obviously Max has got a penalty, so we’ll be fifth on the grid, sixth at Turn 1! Not a bad day’s work," Piastri concluded.

Piastri has been impressive over the past couple of races, missing out on his first F1 podium at Silverstone due to an untimely Safety Car.

He raced well in Hungary, but admitted his lack of experience meant he didn't manage his tyres well, and the team's strategy did not help him. He finished fifth.