Norris hampered again by McLaren straight-line deficit
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 4, 2026
Norris straight-line issue
Lando Norris said McLaren’s straight-line speed problem is “painful as hell,” and the loss has again left him chasing pace where it matters most. Norris said he is down on every straight and that the problem is hurting his lap times, especially in the latter part of the lap. The issue first hit him in Azerbaijan, and it has followed him through the most recent races without going away. Norris said the team is trying to fix it, but he also said he cannot use it as an excuse heading into the Singapore Grand Prix next weekend. He put part of the blame for his latest result on himself, saying he had only himself to blame for a near miss at Turn 1 after a safety-car restart. Norris ran wide, dropped back to 11th and later recovered to ninth in Malaysia. The speed loss has become a clear theme for him, and Norris said he and the team both need to do better as they keep working through the problem.
McLaren deficit explanation
Andrea Stella gave the clearest picture of what McLaren is dealing with. He said Norris is losing about 1 to 2 kph on the straights and roughly 0.1 to 0.2 seconds per lap. Stella said the car is accelerating a little less and reaching a slightly lower top speed, which makes the deficit easiest to see in power-limited sections of the lap. In those parts, Norris has been slower than teammate Oscar Piastri and rivals from Red Bull and Ferrari. Stella said the issue has not affected Piastri’s McLaren, which leaves Norris handling the speed loss on his own side of the garage. Stella also said the cause may not be limited to the Mercedes power unit. He said chassis or drag-related factors could also be part of the problem. McLaren has not solved the issue over the previous two events, and Stella said the team cannot make further changes until Singapore. That keeps the pressure on the work already underway.
Norris Singapore response
Norris has kept the focus on execution and on the job in front of him. That view fits the way the deficit has shown up, because losing even a small amount of speed on the straights changes how the rest of the lap plays out. Norris said the problem is hurting his lap times in the latter part of the lap, which means the loss shows up after the car has already given away speed in the earlier sections. He has not found a way around it yet, and McLaren is still working through the problem. The straight-line deficit remains the main concern for him and for McLaren, and the work will continue until the team finds a solution.
