Lando Norris says finishing just two tenths off pole in Saturday's British Grand Prix qualifying was "pretty insane", while his McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri called the achievement "massive".
Norris held provisional pole in the closing stages of Q3, but there was no beating the unassailable Red Bull of Max Verstappen who pipped his McLaren rival by 0.241s while Piastri was 0.372s adrift.
It was nevertheless McLaren's best collective result in qualifying this season and one that comes in the midst of a three-race upgrade programme that kicked off last weekend in Austria.
"I was close," said Norris just after the epic session. "I was P1 in Q1, I think it was P1 in Q2, and close, two tenths to P1 in Q3 so pretty insane.
"And my last lap was a good lap. I could hear Zak on the radio on the in lap was the best thing ever.
"Great for myself but also for both of us to be second and third was pretty amazing for the whole team.
"It's always Max, he always ruins everything for everyone!" joked a cheeky Norris. "I am very happy. I've got a big thanks to the crowd here, it's been a very special day for us. I look forward to tomorrow."
A calm and composed Piastri took his first top-three qualifying result in his stride, but beneath the restrained demeanor, the young Aussie was ecstatic over his result, calling McLaren's MCL60 a veritable "rocket ship" in Q2 and in Q3.
"We were almost out in Q1, and then yeah, car was a rocket ship in Q2 and Q3. Feel like I put a pretty good lap together," he said.
"So yeah, massive result for the team as well. To consistently have both of us up here is a mega result. Now we've just got to try and stay there for tomorrow."
When it was suggested that McLaren had come out of nowhere after a subdued Friday, Piastri admitted that the team had endured "a rough day" but that its car was "a bit quicker than it looked".
©McLaren
"Just struggling to get the car in the right window and I think we did a better job of that today," he added.
"I think these conditions as well. We do really well in them all the time. Barcelona was a similar story Monaco, Canada as well.
"So we've had a fair few moments like that. But yeah, to pull that off in Q3 like that was a mega result and obviously both of us have now got the new bits on our car and they're working very well.
"So yeah, I can't thank the team enough for continuing to push from where we were at the start of the season to where we are now. It's a massive step in the right direction."
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