Norris capitalised on th☂e strong pace of his McLaren to set the fourth quickest time in qualifying at Monza, having dropped down from third following the first runsꦗ of Q3.

Th🤡e Briton ended up just 0.023s behind Max Verst🤪appen’s Red Bull and was convinced he had the pace to be at least third on the grid.

“I hat✱e those words, 'very close', because i𒅌t always makes you feel like you didn't do a good enough job," Norris said after qualifying.

"I'm hap🌳py. We're in a much better position than the last week♏end and I look forward to the race than a lot more as well. So a nice weekend to bounce back on, a good position so far.

"Missing out on ꦛP3 kind of suck﷽s. I would have loved that little bit more, which I think we had in the car today. But I guess I have to try and do it tomorrow.”

McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo ♒admitted he was equally frustrated to qualify fifth, within 0.006s of Norris and🦩 just 0.029s shy of former Red Bull stablemate Verstappen.

“I was angr🍎y, that was just pure rage,” Ricciardo said of his impressive improvement in the final sector in an interview with Sky Sp🍨orts.

“Pure rage and wrestling🧸 the caℱr. I knew there was time in the last sector, so I knew what I had there.

“But yeah, the🔯 first two were just net even. I knew I had to 🎃pull something out in the final sector.

“Th🌌ought it was enough, I was thiℱrd for a short moment in time. Then it was fourth, and then fifth.

“That’s probably what hurt the most,🃏 I thought I was third. But then Tom [Stallard, Ricciardo’s engineer] told me I was fifth.”