MOTOR RACING: Norris encouraged by McLaren pace despite Mercedes front-row lockout

Defending champion Lando Norris said McLaren could take encouragement from qualifying third for the Canadian Grand Prix after finishing closer than expected to Mercedes, despite not fully exploiting their upgrade package.

George Russell claimed pole position ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli, completing a Mercedes front-row lockout, while Norris secured third after a tight qualifying session in which he briefly appeared in contention following the first Q3 runs.

"I was pretty happy, actually," Norris said. "My lap, the 12.7, I was reasonably happy with. I thought there was a little bit more in it, which I tried to get out on my second lap, but didn't really seem to be able to extract."

Norris said that being so close to Mercedes was positive, adding that they had not expected to beat them in Montreal because they had not yet maximised the potential of their upgrade package.

"The fact that we're not using some of our upgrades, I think we're very surprised to be this close," he said. "There are a lot of positives... there are still good things to come once we figure them out."

Team principal Andrea Stella offered a similar but more cautious assessment, saying there were "encouraging indications" that McLaren were learning more about their upgrades.

"Between the Sprint sessions and qualifying, we did some work to optimise the car from a set-up point of view and a tyre exploitation point of view, so this allowed us to make the car quicker," he said.

"In my view, you have to look at things more holistically, over a period of time and in different conditions," he added.

Rain is a possibility on Sunday, which could work against teams. However, Stella said that the conditions could potentially work in McLaren's favour.

"I do think that this is an advantage because there's uncertainty in relation to the behaviour of the power unit," he said. "In wet, it deviates even more from what you anticipate and from what you can simulate.

"So power units certainly remain an element of variability that is concerning, but if you have tested it you might know a little bit more. There is a little advantage then," he added.

-Reporting by Angelica Medina in Montreal; Editing by Nia Williams/Reuters