Lando Norri💞s’ “incredible ability” will allow him to battl💃e Max Verstappen evenly when on equal terms, Anthony Davidson believes.

A rar🌸e off-day for Red Bull’s Verstappen last weekend atಌ the F1 Miami Grand Prix opened the door for McLaren’s Norris to swoop in and claim his first victory.

Norris’ glory was the result of M♋cLaren’s gradual improvement and there might be more to come, Davidson says.

Craig Slater posed the question: “In term𓄧s of ability and being able to be in the fight, is [Norrisꦑ] able to compete on equal terms with them?”

Davidson answered: “Yes. In one word, yes.

“He’s got incredible ability. He’s great in the rain, brilliant at reading the grand prix, he kept the team calm under𓃲 the Safet🌸y Car conditions.

“He didn’t want to pit immediately. He knew it would be a long yellow flag period. They waited a lap to bring him in, to enﷺsure he’d come out with a healthy lead.

“They didn’t bring him in too early on his orders in many ways. He said: ‘The car feels꧂ good, I’m happy here, we’re on the 𓄧right tyre and the right time, I can go longer to offset ourselves against Red Bull and Verstappen’.”

McLaren dealt warning about Red Bull for Imola

McLaren brought a ra🎶ft of upgrades to Miami which powered them onto their grand prix wꦦin.

“I saw - the upgrades that McLaren brought, the upgrades that Mercedes b𒉰rought - everyone is honing in on where they need to be to catch Re❀d Bull,” Davidson said.

“Red Bull brought tꦫheir upgrades early on, at China.

“So, at this race, it levelled out again. In terms of the upgrades between McLaren♐ and Red Bull.

“Andꦅ this was a serious upgrade for McLaren! They had rear wings, floor, front ꧂wing, you name it!

“They have developed🅺 the car brilliantly well. It does exactly what they want it to do from a wind tunnel point of view.

“It correlates beautifully to𝐆 what they see back at base. And that’s the key to bridging the gap to Red Bull.

“I don’t want to get carried away. ℱThis is just a snapshot. I want to see different circuits which test the cars.”

F1 heads to Imola 📖next weekend where Mercedes are expected to introduce new parts again.

All eyes will be on Nor🅰ris and McLaren, however, to see if they✤ can maintain their race-winning form.

“There is a high chance, in the next race, that the Red Bull might come back strong,” Davidson💙 war💮ned.

“A bit like when he came to Suzu🉐ka and said ‘this is where I’m at’ after a disappointing race at Melbourne.”