Norris sees returning McLaren issues: 'With that, we struggle more'

Up until the final session of the day and after topping the free practice session, Lando Norris was yet to make a mistake on the medium tyres in SQ1 and SQ2, however, a perfect lap did not materialise on the softs. The Briton especially made a mistake in his second run SQ3 as well, and therefore finished only in sixth position, while his teammate, Oscar Piastri finished third.

"I made a mistake, I locked up in the last corner. We just struggled a bit more now, just not quick enough simply, struggled a lot with the car so. Just our difficulties that we've been struggling with showed a lot more today. So nothing more than that honestly, just too many mistakes but just too difficult of a car to drive."

'Similar to Bahrain track'

After his two laps in SQ3 were not perfect, he then compared to this track to Bahrain, where McLaren had issues in previous years. "I think just throughout the day we've been struggling a bit with the front locking and struggling a lot in the last corner with all the tailwinds. So kind of a lot more aligned with Bahrain, say. Just a lot windier. When the wind's blowing, then we struggle a lot more. So I think both myself and Oscar struggled more, clearly me more than him," he added.

Can McLaren bounce back on Saturday in order for Norris to score the important points in the 2025 championship? "That's more me, rather than the car. I can't make the car perfect, but no, this was me just trying to, again, like I push a bit too much. Some more just, need to back off a little bit and not try push too much. I think the car's still good and in a good window maybe not good enough pole position, but we can definitely go forward," he concluded.

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