McLaren's Norris blames poor qualifying after Imola second

Lando Norris admitted second and third behind Max Verstappen's Red Bull was the best that McLaren could achieve at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday.

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The Briton pointed to his problems in qualifying this season as the weakness in his title battle with team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastriand highlighted that their intra-team tussle gives an advantage to Red Bull and Verstappen.

Red Bull have declared their priority is to defend four-time champion Verstappen's title and deploy Yuki Tsnuoda, who finished a bold Oth after starting from the pit lane following his high-speed crash on Saturday, in a supporting role.

Reflecting on his battle with Piastri, notably in the closing laps when he had superior tyres and passed him, Norris said: "I was on a better tyre, but I didn't expect anything.

"We still had a tough fight. It was close into Turn One -- I lose time, through that, and he loses time.