Lando Norris lamented a McLaren MCL39 that was “too difficult” to drive during Sprint Qualifying for the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
Allcomers expected Norris to run to Sprint pole at the Shanghai International Circuit, despite the McLaren driver warning on Thursday that Ferrari could be resurgent.
Those comments came among a notion the MCL39 was a car that has ultimate potential but can bite and that’s exactly how Sprint Qualifying played out.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton romped away to Sprint Pole with a lap record while Norris slid to sixth thanks to two errors.
On his first SQ3 run, Norris had a moment coming onto the back straight, costing him vital speed and six-tenths in the final sector to team-mate Oscar Piastri.
In his final run, locking up into Turn 14 forced Norris to abort the lap and he was adamant once out of the car that an improvement is needed.
“We just struggled a bit more now, just not quick enough simply, I struggled a lot with the car,” Norris said.
“So, yeah, just our difficulties that we’ve been struggling with showed a lot more today.
“Nothing more than that, honestly, just too many mistakes, but it’s just too difficult of a car to drive.”
Wind exposed McLaren’s weaknesses
Norris added that windy conditions helped expose McLaren’s weaknesses, akin to the findings he discovered during pre-season testing in Bahrain.
“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, he said.
“Kind of a lot more in line with Bahrain, so just a lot windier when the wind’s blowing, then we struggle a lot more.
“Both myself and Oscar struggled more, clearly me more than him.
“Just pushing a bit hard to try and make up for not quite being quick enough.”
Asked whether McLaren can make improvements for the remainder of the weekend, Norris acknowledged that it’s up to him, rather than the team to turn his Chinese GP around.
“That’s more me rather than the car,” he said.
“I can’t make the car perfect, but, this was me just trying to, again, like I said, just push a bit too much.
“I think the car’s still good and in a good window, maybe not good enough for pole, but, yeah, we can definitely go forward.”
READ MORE – Lando Norris: McLaren MCL39 made it difficult to dominate F1 Australian GP qualifying
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