Norris' sly Aston dig: 'We have two drivers up there - not every team has that'

After McLaren scored their first double-podium finish since 2021 in Japan on Sunday, they now sit just 49 points behind Aston Martin in the race for fourth.

McLaren continue to go from strength-to-strength, while Aston Martin are firmly back in the midfield pack.

Assessing the fight between the two teams, Norris feels McLaren have a clear advantage as they have “two drivers who are up there fighting” and “not every team has that at the minute”, clearly suggesting that their main rivals - Aston Martin - are being disadvantaged by having just one driver in the fight.

“Yes. I didn't think it was that close,” he said. “But yeah, if it's 49, then I definitely think so. There's not many races left. I'm sure there's going to be a couple where Aston are going to be a bit stronger. 

“But I think our advantage at the minute comparing to almost every team, bar a couple, is we have two drivers who are up there fighting for these positions and fighting for these points. 

“And not every team has that at the minute. So I think that's helping us. We can help one another, we can use one another, and I think that's a good advantage we have over a lot of other teams at the minute.”

McLaren have made incredible progress since the start of the year, particularly as Norris was knocked out in Q1 in the second race in Jeddah.

“So we're on an upward trend,” he added. “We're making good progress and days like today prove exactly that. 

“Even though I know there's going to be maybe some tougher races coming up at times and maybe not as straightforward as today but the progress we’ve made this season has been pretty incredible from my eyes and from where we were, to finishing 18 seconds behind the lead or 19 seconds is I think evidence of exactly that. So I'm proud of everyone and we'll keep pushing.”