McLaren driver Lando Norris scored his second ever podium in F1 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, finishing in third after a stellar outing during which the call was made to allow him to pass teammate Daniel Ricciardo to push for the result. The young Brit was overtaken by Sir Lewis Hamilton for second in the last laps of the race as his soft tyres faded away and the Mercedes driver closed the gap to the front, but the result showed the potential of the 2021 McLaren car and its ability to fight with the frontrunners. Ahead of this weekend's Portuguese Grand Prix in Portimao, Norris has said the podium demonstrated the progress the team had made from last year, but that they need to continue pushing for every advantage in a tight midfield battle, he said in a statement. "The result shows the progress we’re making to compete closer towards the front of the grid, but we know not every race will go in our favour," he said. "We just need to keep our head down and look to improve in all areas to find that extra tenth that can give us the edge against strong competition. I think Imola really showed us that we need to try and turn every opportunity into an advantage with the fight being so close." Norris added that he was looking forward to returning to the undulating Portimao circuit this weekend, after the track made its first appearance in F1 since 1996 last year. “I’m glad we get to return to Portugal this weekend as it was a circuit that added something different to last year’s calendar," he said. "The elevation changes at this track make it a demanding drive with several blind corners. Everyone was struggling for grip there last year with the track being recently resurfaced, so it’ll be interesting to see what it’s like this weekend. Hopefully we’ll be able to push the car a bit more this time around.”
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