McLaren drivers battled shifting grip and tricky timing as Piastri and Norris fell short of locking down a front-row start in China.
It was a tough day at the office for McLaren in Shanghai, as both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris missed out on a front-row start for the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint. Despite securing P3, Piastri believes the result doesn’t reflect the true pace of their MCL39.
“SQ1 and SQ2 went okay, but in SQ3 we tried something different,” the Australian explained. “We went out early to do two flying laps, but in hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best choice. We’ll review it, but I still think the car has solid pace, and I’m confident we can fight.”
Tricky Grip Leaves McLaren Chasing Pace in China
He pointed to the track’s unpredictable grip levels as one of the major challenges: “The surface has a lot of grip, but it’s quite peaky—it changes quickly. It was tough all day, but we managed to tame the car reasonably well despite the timing not being ideal. It adds to the challenge, but we’ll look to improve tomorrow.”
Teammate Lando Norris was on a personal best lap before locking up in the penultimate corner, a costly mistake that ruined his shot at a top spot. The Brit didn’t sugarcoat it: “I made an error. I locked the brakes into the final corner.”
He admitted he’s been struggling to find the car’s edge: “We’ve just been off the pace a bit. It’s been tough today—too many mistakes and a car that’s really hard to drive at the limit.”
Norris Admits Overdriving Cost Him in Shanghai
Norris described the specific challenges of handling the MCL39 in Sprint qualifying: “All day we were battling front locking, especially into the final corner with the tailwind. It reminded me of Bahrain—windy and unpredictable. That made it even harder to get the most out of the car.”
He acknowledged that both he and Piastri had to push harder than usual to try and make up for the lack of pace: “It’s clear both of us were struggling, maybe me a bit more. We were trying to overdrive to compensate.”
Fresh off his recent win, Norris admitted that some of the blame falls on his shoulders: “It’s more down to me than the car. I can’t make it perfect.”
“I just pushed too hard. I need to back off a bit and not overdo it. The car still has potential—it’s in a good window. Maybe not enough for pole, but there’s definitely room to improve.”
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Piastri – Norris Off Pace in Windy Shanghai Quali Piastri – Norris Off Pace in Windy Shanghai Quali
