McLaren endured a turbulent Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia after making the wrong initial decision to start on Medium slick tyres while the Sepang circuit was still wet. Oscar Piastri managed to limit the damage by returning to the pits before the start, meaning he began the race from the pit lane, while Lando Norris continued on slicks and lost a huge amount of time during the first half of the Grand Prix.
Despite that difficult beginning, strong race pace and some favourable circumstances allowed the two McLaren drivers to recover to sixth and ninth positions. The result limited the damage on a day that could have ended considerably worse, although both drivers acknowledged that the MCL40 still lacked the performance required to challenge at the front.
Lando Norris losing almost two tenths per lap in straight-line speed
Lando Norris first criticised the new regulations following the chaotic situation that developed after the opening formation lap in the rain.
“Horrible. This just shows that we shouldn’t have any of this, the electronic side of things. We can’t add anything more to what has already been said. It’s about programming issues and the way the battery operates.”
The British driver then turned his attention to McLaren’s race and the decisions that ultimately proved costly, particularly the gamble to start on dry-weather tyres.
“Ultimately, today came down to a few key problems. The initial gamble to start on the Medium tyres didn’t work. The grip wasn’t what we expected, it was a collective decision and, with hindsight, it was the wrong one.”
For Lando Norris, however, McLaren’s biggest concern went beyond strategy. The underlying speed of the MCL40 was simply not competitive enough.
“However, we simply weren’t quick enough, and we have to be honest about that. The car doesn’t have the pace, and we need to improve it significantly if we want to be competitive. I don’t think we could have fought for more than sixth or seventh today, regardless of how we managed the race.”
Norris says McLaren straight-line deficit is making life difficult
Lando Norris also highlighted another important problem affecting his MCL40: its straight-line performance. The McLaren driver estimated that the deficit was costing him almost two tenths of a second per lap.
“I have no idea. I mean, the team is trying, but I’m losing almost two tenths a lap. Two tenths of a second per lap over 55 laps is terribly painful. And it’s making my life quite difficult.”
However, Lando Norris refused to blame the car alone and acknowledged that his own performance also left room for improvement.
“But there are other things I could have done better as well. It’s not just an excuse. There are things I can improve, and the team also needs to improve.”
Lando Norris accepts blame for Safety Car mistake
Lando Norris also addressed the mistake he made under Safety Car conditions, which cost him positions on track.
“I don’t think I could see from where I was just how much they had literally stopped on the racing line.”
He nevertheless accepted responsibility for misjudging the situation.
“Ultimately, it’s my job to judge those kinds of things, but that wasn’t a normal situation. Of course, it caught me by surprise. I can’t blame anyone other than myself, but in that situation there was nothing else I could do.”
“I know I could have done better today, just as the team knows that we need to work to make the car faster.”
With Formula 1 immediately turning its attention towards the next round, Lando Norris added: “We’ll learn from today and focus on preparing for Singapore.”
Oscar Piastri says McLaren upgrades are working as expected
Oscar Piastri described the Malaysian Grand Prix as a complicated and chaotic race after McLaren’s initial tyre gamble.
“It was a very mixed and chaotic race today. We took a risk at the beginning with the slick tyres, before immediately returning to the pits for Intermediates. But making the switch was the right decision and the timing of the Safety Car allowed us to minimise the impact.”
The Australian also found encouraging performance from the MCL40 once he switched to the Hard compound, particularly during his second stint.
“We improved a lot on the Hard tyres. Especially in the second stint, when we were catching Leclerc before the final Safety Car interrupted it. However, today we didn’t have the pace needed to make a lasting impact.”
McLaren sees rivals progressing despite successful MCL40 developments
Oscar Piastri believes McLaren already understands the scale of the work required over the remaining races. The final part of the season will also be important as the team continues developing the car with an eye on the following campaign.
“We know how much work we have to do and that we need to keep pushing and bring further developments to the car to close that gap. We can see the progress our rivals are making, as demonstrated by Red Bull’s performance this weekend.”
Crucially, Oscar Piastri does not believe McLaren’s recent upgrades have failed to deliver what the team expected. Instead, the problem is that its competitors are progressing at the same time.
“Our new components are working as expected, but everyone else is improving as well, so at the moment we’re not fighting for victory. We’ll analyse everything and then focus on Singapore.”
The Sepang weekend therefore left McLaren with two separate concerns to address. Its initial tyre strategy put both cars on the back foot, but the drivers were equally clear that strategy alone did not explain the result. Lando Norris continues to face a significant straight-line speed deficit, while Oscar Piastri believes the latest MCL40 developments are delivering their intended gains without yet being enough to keep pace with the progress made by rival teams.
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