Lando Norris has openly expressed his doubts about whether McLaren will manage to eliminate a troubling performance problem that is sapping straight‑line speed from his car ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend. The British driver, who entered the season with a string of impressive results—including three pole positions and two race victories across the first four rounds surrounding the summer hiatus—has seen his form dip dramatically in the two events that followed, in Azerbaijan and Malaysia. In Baku, Norris could only manage a fifth‑place qualifying slot and then suffered a race‑ending collision that forced him out of the Grand Prix. A week later, at the Sepang International Circuit, he again qualified fifth but was limited to a ninth‑place finish after a race riddled with mistakes and a clear lack of pace compared with his teammate, Oscar Piastri.
The core of the problem appears to be a mysterious loss of speed on the long straights, a deficiency that has even seen Norris trail Piastri in sections of the circuit where McLaren’s car should have been dominant. When asked by Sky Sports F1 whether the team could rectify the issue in time for the upcoming Sprint race in Singapore, Norris replied bluntly: "I have no idea.
The team are trying but I'm losing almost two tenths a lap. Two tenths a lap over 55 laps is just painful as hell.
It's making my life pretty damn difficult." He went on to acknowledge that the situation in Malaysia was not solely the car’s fault, adding, "There are also other things. In Malaysia I could have done better.
I can't just have that. That's not just an excuse.
There are things I can do better and the team as well." Team principal Andrea Stella admitted that McLaren’s rivals might be making larger developmental strides than the British outfit. After a promising showing at the Hungarian Grand Prix—where an upgrade package delivered Norris’s first pole and the team’s only victory of the season—McLaren seemed to be back in contention. However, subsequent races have shown that rivals such as Mercedes and Red Bull are progressing quickly. In Azerbaijan, George Russell secured a commanding win for Mercedes, while Max Verstappen demonstrated Red Bull’s continued improvement by taking victory in Malaysia.
Stella reflected on the rapidly shifting competitive landscape: "We see a scenario in Formula 1 which seems to be changing pretty rapidly. In Hungary, we took some upgrades, and we were in condition to have a pole position in Hungary and Zandvoort and then we were in condition to do pole position and pretty much victory in Madrid without the Virtual Safety Car. Then very rapidly and interestingly, as we took upgrades as well, the picture changes. I think we have to take a look at our own development.
We don't see any anomaly in our data, but we have to acknowledge that potentially some competitors have developed their car with bigger steps than we did." The Malaysian Grand Prix presented unusual conditions: extremely high temperatures and a particularly abrasive track surface that may have amplified any underlying weaknesses in McLaren’s package. Stella suggested that these factors could mean the data from Sepang is not fully representative of the car’s true potential. "There are very specific conditions in Malaysia, so I think we should give ourselves more time," he said.
"I'm sure this is the same kind of review that we'll have next door at Mercedes. It's a very special condition in Malaysia, so I think we have to understand better the behaviour of the cars.
I think we need to give ourselves some more time. I'm personally not in condition to say if Singapore will be now more suitable or not, because from a track layout point of view, we thought that Sepang would be a decent circuit for us. This is because of the uncertainty caused by the new scenario from a competitiveness point of view, but also because we might have to understand a bit better the upgrades that we took ourselves, and Singapore will give us a better answer." Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit offers a very different set of challenges compared with the high‑speed, hot, and bumpy layout of Sepang.
The street track is tighter, with a greater emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency and braking stability rather than outright straight‑line speed. This could either mitigate the current deficit Norris is experiencing or expose it further, depending on how the car’s balance reacts to the slower, more technical sections. Norris’s comments highlight how a loss of two‑tenths per lap, while seemingly small, compounds dramatically over a 55‑lap sprint race, turning a potentially competitive run into a frustratingly slow one.
Beyond the technical aspects, the psychological impact on Norris cannot be understated. Coming off a period where he had been a front‑runner, the sudden dip in performance can erode confidence, especially when the cause is not immediately clear.
The driver’s candid remarks about the pain of losing time underscore the mental strain of trying to extract maximum performance from a car that feels fundamentally compromised. Looking ahead, the team faces a dual task: diagnose the root cause of the speed loss—whether it is a aerodynamic inefficiency, a power‑unit mapping issue, or a tyre‑temperature problem—and implement a solution before the Singapore Sprint. Simultaneously, they must continue to develop the car in a way that keeps pace with the rapid advancements of rivals.
The upcoming race weekend will serve as a crucial test; if McLaren can narrow the deficit, even by a few hundredths of a second per lap, it could restore Norris’s confidence and re‑establish the team as a podium contender. Conversely, if the problem persists, it may signal a deeper developmental lag that could jeopardise their championship aspirations for the remainder of the season. The Singapore Grand Prix, the final sprint weekend of the year, promises to be a decisive moment for McLaren.
Fans and analysts alike will be watching closely to see whether the team can translate their upgrade work into tangible performance gains, or whether they will continue to wrestle with the same issues that have plagued Norris in Malaysia. The outcome will not only affect Norris’s standing in the drivers’ championship but also shape McLaren’s strategic direction as they head into the final races of the season.