Norris believes McLaren now ‘comfortably third’ fastest team

Lando Norris says he believes McLaren are now the “comfortably third” fastest team having recovered from a difficult start to the season.

After the opening two races, even the most die-hard McLaren fan would have struggled to picture such a dramatic turnaround but work behind-the-scenes has transformed them from backmarker to podium placers.

Granted, Norris’ third-place finish featured a large slice of luck in the form of Charles Leclerc spinning off the track but the McLaren driver had been in a comfortable fourth up until that point.

While Red Bull and Ferrari look set to disappear over the horizon in terms of the World Championship, there is a real scrap for the ‘best of the rest’ crown with McLaren, Mercedes and Alpine among those jostling for that third-place spot.

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In terms of the Constructors’ Championship, it is Mercedes who, for now, hold third place but judging by their performance at Imola, they do not have the third fastest car on the grid. That title, Norris believes, belongs to McLaren.

Reflecting on the opening race in Bahrain which saw him finish 15th and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo 14th, Norris said that race could be classed as “an outlier.”

“It was still a