Norris stuck with slow McLaren engine as Stella admits fix must wait until Singapore
Lando Norris will race the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia with a straight-line speed deficit that McLaren cannot fix this weekend. Team principal Andrea Stella has said any further changes can only come at Singapore, and Norris has little room left in his power-unit allocation to replace the problem.
Lando Norris will compete in the Bahrain Grand Prix with a significant disadvantage due to McLaren's inability to fix a slow engine this weekend. Team principal Andrea Stella has indicated that any further adjustments can only be made in Singapore, and Norris has limited power-unit options left to replace the problematic one. When asked about swapping the power unit after qualifying, Norris replied succinctly: "I'm pretty sure I still need it."
Norris qualified sixth, 0.627 seconds behind polesitter Max Verstappen and only 0.005 seconds ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. This deficit is not just a minor issue; Stella estimates it to be a loss of one to two tenths of a second per lap, most of which occurs in the second half of the lap. McLaren is currently investigating the cause, which could be related to the chassis, drag, or fuel injection behavior, but has not attributed it to the engine supplier, Mercedes.
This issue has persisted in both the Bahrain and Bahrain GP, with Norris losing approximately 11.5 km/h through the speed trap compared to Russell. Stella stated that the team will continue to examine all potential factors, but any further changes can only be considered for Singapore.
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