Lando Norris remained optimistic that he can score points in tomorrow’s Dutch Grand Prix, despite the Brit only managing 13th on the grid after a compromised second part of qualifying.

McLaren had struggled in Friday’s Practice sessions, with both drivers narrowly making it through into Q2.

Norris wasn’t so lucky in the second part of Qualifying with a mixture of red flags and a sluggish first lap causing the Brit to be eliminated in Q2, with Norris starting a disappointing 13th on the grid alongside Nicholas Latifi.

After Qualifying, Norris admitted that he didn't feel confident enough to produce a lap time good enough to progress into Q2.

"Not the day I wanted or that we were expecting. I just didn't do the best job. I didn't feel too confident in qualifying to hook it all up and put it together.’’

‘‘It’s probably the closest qualifying we’ve had all year. It's a shame as this is the race we really needed to be strong, but we just didn't manage it. We also didn't get that last opportunity to try again because of the red flag.’’

Despite starting from 13th, Norris is hopeful that he can challenge for points on the tight Dutch circuit. 

‘’It’s going to make our day tomorrow very tricky, but I think we’re definitely quicker than a few other cars ahead of us, so hopefully, we can still score some points."

McLaren’s team principal Andreas Seidl believed that even if Norris had been on the limit, it would have been marginal for the Brit to progress into the top 10 shootout. 

“This was a very difficult Saturday afternoon for us. On both sides of the garage, it was simply difficult to extract more performance out of the car.’’

‘’On Lando’s side, in three attempts, he never felt really comfortable with pushing to the limit. He missed his final opportunity in Q2, but even with that, it was marginal whether he would progress.’’