Lando Norris says McLaren is struggling more than expected at Sepang despite making clear progress between FP1 and FP2. The reigning Formula 1 World Champion improved from 12th in the opening practice session to third later in the day, but warned that the team still has significant work to do before qualifying.
The biggest challenges came from Sepang’s track surface, high tyre degradation and hot conditions, while the weather remained another potential variable throughout Friday. McLaren nevertheless managed to adapt its car between the two sessions, allowing both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to improve their performance.
Sepang track surface creates problems for McLaren
The first two practice sessions marked Formula 1’s official return to Sepang, a circuit popular with many drivers but one that immediately provided a demanding test.
The condition of the asphalt proved particularly important, with drivers also having to manage high tyre degradation, elevated temperatures and the constant uncertainty surrounding Malaysia’s weather.
McLaren made progress between FP1 and FP2 by improving the setup of its car, allowing both drivers to lower their lap times as they became more familiar with the circuit and its surface.
Lando Norris improves from P12 to P3 in FP2
Lando Norris finished only 12th in FP1 before recovering to third place during FP2. The second session also featured the possibility of rain appearing on the radar, although the expected shower never actually arrived.
“An interesting first day here at the Bahrain Grand Prix,” Lando Norris said. “It was nice to complete my first laps around this circuit. It’s a fun track and represents an interesting challenge in terms of both the layout and the track surface.”
Despite the significant improvement in his final position, Norris admitted McLaren had not found Friday as straightforward as it might have expected.
“We’re struggling more than expected, but we made some progress heading into FP2. There’s still quite a lot of work to do if we want to be competitive, but tonight we’ll analyse the data to understand which direction to take ahead of FP3 and qualifying tomorrow.”
Oscar Piastri says Sepang race pace remains uncertain
The biggest unanswered question concerns race pace. Oscar Piastri finished ahead of his team-mate during FP1 before ending the second session in sixth position, and he believes the true long-run hierarchy remains difficult to establish.
“Friday at the Bahrain Grand Prix is complete. It was a positive day for us: between the first and second practice sessions we made significant progress, and we finished the day with a good feeling,” Oscar Piastri said.
“The qualifying simulations and long runs went quite well, but there’s still a lot of work to do tonight and a lot to understand about race management at this circuit.”
Sepang’s high tyre degradation means that outright lap time is only one part of the performance picture. Understanding how the tyres behave over longer stints will be particularly important before McLaren can accurately judge where it stands against its rivals.
“The real race-pace performance of the whole field – including ours – remains an unknown, but we feel that we can play our cards,” Oscar Piastri continued.
“It’s an exciting circuit to drive, but managing grip and the high tyre degradation represent significant challenges. We need to look more deeply into both areas tonight so we can arrive as well prepared as possible for qualifying.”
McLaren targets another step before Sepang qualifying
After beginning Friday with greater difficulties than anticipated, McLaren at least ended the day moving in the right direction. Norris’s rise from 12th to third illustrated the progress made with the car, while Piastri also felt that the team had taken a significant step between sessions.
However, neither driver considered the competitive picture settled. Track conditions, grip management and tyre degradation remain important variables, while the true race pace of McLaren and its rivals has yet to become clear.
“Our objective is to build on today’s positive momentum and extract the maximum potential from the car to make sure we are competitive,” Oscar Piastri concluded.
FP3 will therefore be crucial for McLaren as it attempts to turn Friday’s progress into a stronger and more predictable package for qualifying at Sepang.
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