Norris believes he can “do a better job” in qualifying

Lando Norris believes he can perform better in qualifying this weekend but says it will be difficult for McLaren reach Q3 for the second race in a row.

The McLaren driver surprised by qualifying eighth on the grid for his first race in Melbourne. But he said “it’s going to be just as tough as it was” in Australia to repeat the result this weekend.

Norris said he feels more comfortable in the car ahead of his second race weekend. “I feel a bit more confident in general just because of my driving, not because we’re loads quicker, as a team. So I feel like maybe I can do a better job.

“We don’t know, it’s looking close again between all the midfield teams. I think the top three are probably still going to have a slight advantage over everyone else. But I feel confident in my driving.”

Norris ended practice within half a second of Valtteri Bottas’s Mercedes, which the McLaren driver says proves there is much more to come from their rivals.

“You can see from Mercedes now, we’re almost as fast as them which I don’t think is true. And Ferrari look very good. I’m sure the other teams have got quite a bit to come.

“The only thing I can guarantee is it’s going to be very close between the whole midfield. But I feel more confident than what I did mainly because I know obviously compared to what I did in Australia, I feel a bit more confident than then so look forward to tomorrow and into qualifying.”

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