As Motorsport.com reports, Lando Norris has found himself bleeding precious time on the straights for the second weekend running, struggling with a persistent top-speed deficit during qualifying. While McLaren already runs lower gear ratios than its fellow Mercedes-powered rivals, this latest issue goes beyond that known baseline. Norris pointed out the painful reality of the machine's limitations on the power-limited sections of the track, noting that even with a strong corner exit, the car simply loses momentum before the braking zone.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella broke down the telemetry, revealing that the car accelerates slightly less and caps out at a lower maximum velocity with all other parameters equal. The shortfall sits at a minute one to two kilometres per hour, small enough to be easily masked if Norris catches a slipstream from a car four seconds ahead. Yet, statistically, the damage adds up to a lap time loss exceeding one tenth of a second, potentially stretching to two tenths.
Stella noted that the complexity of modern regulations makes pinpointing the root cause remarkably difficult. If it were a straightforward energy deployment issue, the sensors would catch it immediately, but the problem appears to reside outside easy detection. The Italian was careful to steer clear of pointing fingers at the Mercedes power unit division, emphasizing that external factors could stem from chassis-side variables or aerodynamic drag.
The restriction is particularly noticeable in the latter portion of the circuit, where teammate Piastri pulled away in top speed between Turns 13 and 14, as well as along the back straight toward Turn 15. Stella took full responsibility for failing to resolve the lap time deficit across consecutive events, admitting that any further structural changes to address the issue cannot happen until Singapore.
