{
  "id": 11679577,
  "title": "Norris blames Sepang tarmac as McLaren struggle in Bahrain GP qualifying",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/norris-blames-sepang-tarmac-as-mclaren-struggle-in-bahrain-gp-11679577",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-03T12:04:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/sports/2026/10/03/norris-blames-sepang-tarmac-as-mclaren-struggle-in-bahrain-gp-qualifying"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "McLaren's Lando Norris blamed the unique tarmac surface of the Bahrain Grand Prix circuit for his team's struggles during qualifying. Norris, the current world champion, qualified sixth-fastest, just six-tenths of a second behind pole sitter Max Verstappen of Red Bull. However, Norris will start fifth after Red Bull's Isaac Hadjar received a grid penalty, dropping him from third to eighth place.\n\nNorris told reporters, \"We are just slow. The car's not good enough here.\" He attributed Mercedes' and Red Bull's performance to the challenging tarmac surface, as well as McLaren's general lack of pace throughout the weekend. Norris stated, \"My car is struggling with speed on the straights and we've lacked general pace all weekend.\"\n\nTeammate Oscar Piastri qualified seventh-fastest but will start third due to Hadjar's penalty. Piastri commented, \"Not quite the session we wanted. We're struggling a bit for pace here. But overall, I was reasonably happy with things.\" He added, \"An extra tenth (of a second) would have been good... We were just not quick enough here unfortunately. It's going to be a race where we can do a lot with strategy - and then hopefully pace.\"",
  "summary": "Lando Norris says McLaren lacked pace and was a long way off the leaders despite qualifying sixth-fastest.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 9,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malaysiakini",
        "title": "‘It’s happening in Malaysia’: Bahrain GP switch surprised race chief",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/its-happening-in-malaysia-bahrain-gp-switch-surprised-race-chief",
        "published": "2026-10-03T08:09:27.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Verstappen claims first pole of season at Bahrain GP in Malaysia",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/verstappen-claims-first-pole-of-season-at-bahrain-gp-in-malaysia",
        "published": "2026-10-03T09:12:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Verstappen claims first pole of season at Bahrain GP in Malaysia",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/verstappen-claims-first-pole-of-season-at-bahrain-gp-in-malaysia-11651983",
        "published": "2026-10-03T09:19:07.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Citizen",
        "title": "Red Bull’s Verstappen grabs pole position for Bahrain GP",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/red-bulls-verstappen-grabs-pole-position-for-bahrain-gp",
        "published": "2026-10-03T09:52:20.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Red Bull’s Verstappen grabs pole position for Bahrain GP in Malaysia",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/red-bulls-verstappen-grabs-pole-position-for-bahrain-gp-in-malaysia",
        "published": "2026-10-03T10:03:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Red Bull’s Verstappen grabs pole position for Bahrain GP",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/red-bulls-verstappen-grabs-pole-position-for-bahrain-gp-11665180",
        "published": "2026-10-03T10:04:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Verstappen ends pole drought with Bahrain GP qualifying win in Sepang",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/verstappen-ends-pole-drought-with-bahrain-gp-qualifying-win-in-sepang",
        "published": "2026-10-03T10:50:15.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "SABC News",
        "title": "Verstappen claims first pole of season at Bahrain GP in Malaysia",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/verstappen-claims-first-pole-of-season-at-bahrain-gp-in-malaysia-11691712",
        "published": "2026-10-03T12:56:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}