Norris identifies McLaren straight-line speed deficit

McLaren driver Lando Norris qualified sixth for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Saturday, October 3, after identifying a persistent straight-line speed deficit that he said was costing him time at Sepang. He was 0.627 seconds behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen and just 0.005 seconds ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. A reported five-place penalty for Isack Hadjar was expected to move Norris to fifth on the starting grid. Norris said his qualifying lap had been strong, but that he lost speed near the end of straights even after good exits from corners. He said the shortfall was evident across the circuit and made it difficult to achieve the position he believed his performance merited. The precise cause of the deficit remains unclear. Norris linked the problem to the power unit when asked directly, while McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team was not attributing it to a single source. Stella said possible factors included power-unit behavior, chassis-related effects and aerodynamic drag. Stella said McLaren’s data indicated the car was about one to two kilometers per hour slower in power-limited sections, with other parameters held constant.