Norris battles McLaren struggles on Sepang tarmac

Lando Norris, the reigning world champion, expressed frustration with his McLaren's performance during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. He secured the sixth-fastest time, but will begin the race from fifth on the grid due to a penalty applied to Isack Hadjar. Norris cited the Sepang circuit's distinctive surface as the primary reason for his team's difficulties, noting it significantly impacted car performance.

Norris elaborated that the unique tarmac caused many teams, including Mercedes, to struggle more than usual, while surprisingly benefiting others like Red Bull. He admitted his car lacked the expected pace and struggled with speed on the straights throughout the weekend. Despite these challenges, Norris felt he had achieved the maximum possible with the car during his final qualifying lap, acknowledging the significant performance gap to the dominant Red Bull cars.

His teammate, Oscar Piastri, also qualified seventh and will start from sixth, benefiting from the same grid penalty that aided Norris. Piastri also noted the team's struggle for pace at this particular venue but expressed cautious optimism regarding strategy's potential impact during the race. Both drivers anticipate a challenging race without expecting miraculous improvements in outright speed.