SOMERSET'S Lando Norris could not follow up his impressive qualification with a points finish at his debut Grand Prix in Australia but remained pleased with his performance.

The 19-year-old, who attended Millfield School and whose family live in Glastonbury, surpassed the expectations of many when he put his McLaren in eighth position in Melbourne, out-qualifying established Formula One names like Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg and team-mate Carlos Sainz.

But Norris lost a few places on the first lap at Albert Park and was then caught in a midfield train, winding up 12th.

He said: "I got stuck behind (Antonio) Giovinazzi in the middle, I just didn't get past him as quickly as I should have done.

"It's not definite I would have got top 10 but it would have given me a much better chance to stay ahead of (Daniil) Kvyat and Lance (Stroll).

"It's just a shame I lost the track position and then couldn't have a fight or battle for a top-10 position."

But he said he was pleased with his performance in his maiden Grand Prix.

"Coming into this race, I definitely did not expect a Q3 that's a very positive, a very big positive for myself and the team," he said.

"Still, P12 in the race, considering and now knowing we could have done better, I'm pretty pleased with that. It's not like we were P16 or last and thinking 'I've got a hell of a job to do'.

"There are things I've still got to work on. I was not so confident with the whole experience going into the race but coming out I have a much better understanding and more confidence.

"So hopefully I can do a better job overall in Bahrain."

Norris finished first of the three new recruits to F1, with Toro Rosso's Alex Albon finishing 14th and George Russell for Williams two places further back.

Russell said: "I'm happy that I got through it with no dramas.

"I got through it basically. We learned a lot.

"But obviously we're not here to fight for last and we've just got to analyse everything now, wake up Monday morning and try and put a plan together."

Earlier in the weekend, the 21-year-old said there was a problem with the car which he said was confirmed by performance during the race.

He said: "It almost confirmed what we knew really, which is positive in itself.

"I believe we've got a clear direction of where to go but that doesn't mean we'll wake up tomorrow and can resolve it.

"These cars are so complex that to make such a big change it might work it might not work, we'll see."