McLaren reveals Norris’ MCL40 issues: Singh explains what went wrong in FP2
McLaren sporting director Randy Singh has shed light on the problems that affected Lando Norris’ car during FP2 at the Japanese Grand Prix. The British driver was forced to begin the session significantly later than the rest of the field due to a hydraulic leak, the source of which proved difficult to identify in time.
“We discovered it at the end of FP1. There was a hydraulic leak on Lando’s car, and we did everything we could to locate the source and try to fix it so we could get him back out on track before the end of FP2,” Singh explained.
The issue limited Norris’ track time during a crucial session in which teams focused on both qualifying simulations and long-run data collection. Despite the setback, McLaren managed to recover part of the lost ground thanks to the structure of the race weekend.
“We’re fortunate that this is a traditional weekend rather than a Sprint format, so we had enough time to recover. I think we did a good job making the most of what we could learn. Lando’s pace was actually quite good considering how little he ran,” Singh added.
While Norris struggled to maximize his track time, Oscar Piastri confirmed the strong form already shown in FP1 by finishing at the top of the timesheets in the second practice session at Suzuka. However, despite the encouraging result, McLaren is remaining cautious in its assessment of the overall competitive picture.
Singh played down expectations, pointing out that similar scenarios have already been seen earlier this season: “We were also first in Australia during FP2, so I don’t think the competitive order has changed significantly between Australia and here. We are doing our best to extract the maximum from the car at the moment. Obviously, we are always optimistic and confident, but we also have to stay realistic.”
The MCL40 continues to show promising signs in terms of raw performance, particularly in energy management and consistency over longer runs, but the team is aware that execution will be key over the remainder of the weekend. Reliability issues like the one experienced by Norris highlight how fine the margins remain in the early stages of the 2026 season.
Looking ahead, McLaren appears to have a genuine opportunity to challenge Ferrari over the course of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. However, turning that potential into a strong result will depend on avoiding further setbacks and maximizing both cars’ performance across qualifying and race conditions.
The question now is whether McLaren can finally put together a clean weekend and capitalize on its evident pace, especially with rivals like Ferrari still searching for the optimal setup at Suzuka.
McLaren’s Friday at the Japanese Grand Prix was therefore a tale of two halves: a headline-grabbing performance from Oscar Piastri and a race against the clock for Lando Norris. Based on the content of Randy Singh’s analysis, the team feels they have the situation under control, but the pressure is on to ensure the hydraulic systems hold up through the high-G demands of the Suzuka “S” Curves.
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