McLaren flags pace deficit after Sepang qualifying
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 3, 2026
McLaren pace deficit
McLaren arrived in Malaysia expecting a different kind of Friday, then found a track that punished the team from the first session. Senior racing director Randy Singh said the circuit offered less grip and a rougher surface than McLaren had forecast, and that left the team chasing answers early in the day. First practice exposed the problem. Oscar Piastri finished 11th and Lando Norris placed 12th, and both drivers were more than 1.7 seconds slower than Max Verstappen’s benchmark. That gap underlined how far McLaren had to go before the team could think about the front of the field.
McLaren responded in second practice, and the turnaround gave it a clearer picture of the weekend. Norris jumped to third and Piastri improved to sixth, a much stronger showing that suggested the team had found some of the speed it needed. Piastri said McLaren looked “a tiny step behind the front-runners,” but he also stressed how close the top four teams were. He said McLaren had made a lot of progress from the first session and looked better in second practice. He also said the team still had ground to make up on its main rivals and planned to use Saturday’s final practice session to keep closing the gap before qualifying.
Piastri qualifying setback
McLaren carried that progress into qualifying, but the team still could not match Verstappen at the sharp end. Piastri said a lack of grip through Turn 2 on his final Q3 lap cost him speed, and that detail shaped the end of his session. He sat fourth after the opening runs in Q3, then could not improve on his final attempt. Piastri ultimately qualified seventh, with Norris sixth, and Verstappen took pole position. The result left McLaren in decent striking distance, but still short of the front row pace it wanted after the stronger second practice session.
The track rewarded precision and grip, and McLaren spent the day learning where it could gain time. The team’s pace improved, but the final gap to Verstappen and the front-runners stayed visible when it mattered most.
Norris grid boost
Norris left qualifying frustrated for a different reason. He said McLaren was “just slow,” and he pointed to a power unit issue that hurt him on the long straights. Norris said the team was still not getting the most out of its Mercedes engine, and he said that deficit was costing him significant time. Andrea Stella backed up that view, saying Norris’ car continued to suffer a straight-line speed deficit. That left Norris with a clear explanation for the lost pace, and it added another layer to a day that began with McLaren surprised by the circuit and ended with the team still trying to close the gap.
Even with the qualifying setback, McLaren left room for optimism about the race. The team remained confident in its race pace, which kept the weekend alive after a difficult start. McLaren also picked up a small boost before the race, since both cars were set to move up one position after Isack Hadjar received a five-place grid penalty for changing engine components. That adjustment did not erase the pace issues McLaren identified, but it did improve the starting spots for both drivers and gave the team a better chance to fight back when the lights go out.
