Lando Norris’ “incredible ability” will allow him to battle Max Verstappen evenly when on equal terms, Anthony Davids💝on believes.

A rare off-day for Red Bull’s Verstappen 🌜last weekend at 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 McLaren’s gradual improv🎐ement and there might be more to come, Davidson says.

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

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

“He’s got incredi▨ble ability. He’s great in the rain,ꦫ brilliant at reading the grand prix, he kept the team calm under the Safety 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 ensure hꦿe’d come out with a healthy lead.

“They didn’t bring him in too early on his orders in many ways. He said: ‘The ca꧒r feels good, I’m happy here, we’re o🉐n the right 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 raft of u🧜pgrades to༒ Miami which powered them onto their grand prix win.

“I saw - the upgrades that McLaren brought, the upgrades that Mercedes brought - everyone is honing in on where 𒀰they need to be to catch Red Bull,” Davidson said.

“Red Bull brought their upg🍌rades early on, at C✅hina.

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

“And 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 poin﷽t of view.

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

“I don’꧙t want to get carried away. This is just a snapshot. I want t🌼o see different circuits which test the cars.”

F1 hea🧔ds✨ to Imola next weekend where Mercedes are expected to introduce new parts again.

All eyes will be on Norri⛄s 💯and McLaren, however, to see if they can maintain their race-winning form.

“There is a high chance, in th🌠e next race, that the Red Bull might c𒁏ome back strong,” Davidson warned.

“A bit like when he cᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚame to Suzuka and said ‘this is where I’m at’ after a disappointing race at Melbourne.”