Norris nears fitness in surprise Mercedes fight

Lando Norris has revealed his illness is "99 per cent gone" after finishing Friday the best of the rest around Monaco.

The McLaren driver suffered miserably across last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix with tonsillitis but delivered a stunning performance to finish eighth.

Still feeling the effects on Friday, Norris was granted a medical exemption from his morning media duties in the principality as McLaren focused on ensuring he was in the "best possible condition to drive".

Asked how he was feeling after two hours of on-track action at the end of which he was fifth quickest behind both Ferraris and Red Bulls, Norris said: "[I'm] almost there.

"I'm not 100 per cent still but I can't describe how much better I am than this time last week.

"It's 99 per cent gone. I'm still struggling a bit with my throat with coughs and stuff like that but the main part of my fever is gone.

"I'm in a much better condition. I can enjoy it a bit more and I can concentrate when I'm driving and so on.

"It has been a decent first day in Monaco so I'm reasonably happy."

Mercedes battle 'a surprise'

Although rival Mercedes has struggled in the early races of the season, the team is still 70 points clear of McLaren.

At the end of FP2, Norris finished ahead of both Silver Arrows, with George Russell sixth and Lewis Hamilton a lowly 12th.

Assessing Mercedes' performance, Norris added: "I'm a little bit surprised to see we're ahead of them.

"I expected them to be ahead of us at the minute but the plan is to be ahead of them and if we can be then I will be very happy with that."

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