Lando Norris took a shock podium at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. When the 2022 Formula 1 season opened in Bahrain the British driver and his McLaren team looked to be lost. The biggest shake-up of technical regulations in Formula 1 history had seemingly left McLaren behind the eight ball.

The opening rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia saw Norris and his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, qualify outside the top ten and score only a handful of points. Braking instability was crippling the MCL36 but at the third round, the Australian Grand Prix, they showed signs of progress and after finishing fifth and sixth in Saturday's Sprint Race they were well placed to have a good result on Sunday.

Ricciardo's race was marred by an opening lap clash with Carlos Sainz but Norris "executed a great race to come through and claim a podium finish in third. The 22 year old established his reputation as a potential champion in waiting last year with four podiums and a string of strong results. That would eventually net him sixth in the standings, two places ahead of Ricciardo, but Sunday's podium was a perfect example of the maturity that's now expected of him.

"It was a great result and we certainly didn't expect that coming into this weekend," said Norris. "I'm happy to be leaving with a podium because it's been a trickv weekend. The team recovered well to out me in a good position for today's race. I had a good start and was managing my tyres to the end. At that point we were on for a P4, which would still have been a great result. We got a bit lucky with the issues ahead, but we did what we needed to do to be in a position to take that opportunity. Great work by the team at track and back at the factory, great pit-stops and a great result."

For Ricciardo it was a missed opportunity after the opening lap.

"It was one of those Sundays for me unfortunately," commented the Australian. "At Turn I, I thought I got hit but it was actually me getting on the kerb. I then slipped off it and went into Carlos [Sainz], before being bumped by Bottas. We had a bit of damage and struggled for the rest of the race. It's a painful one and it's never nice to be involved in incidents. There's not much more to say. Just one of those Sundays. We'll celebrate Land's podium and learn what we can as we head to Miami."

The next round, on the streets of Miami, is one of the most anticipated rounds of the season. How will the teams and drivers adapt to the Florida asphalt? McLaren and Norris will enjoy the podium and their progress but will now have their focus on proving Imola wasn't a fluke and that they're back in contention.

Check the action live from Miami on channel 309 -ESPN Extra -on your Digicel+ Service.