Norris rues McLaren’s Sepang straight-line struggle: ‘It just hurts’

Lando Norris says McLaren is leaving too much performance stranded on Sepang’s long straights after another qualifying session exposed a weakness the reigning champions have been battling since the start of the 2026 regulations. Norris could manage only sixth on the grid for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, finishing just 0.005 seconds ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri but a substantial 0.627s behind polesitter Max Verstappen. The Briton believes the deficit is being amplified by McLaren’s inability to extract everything from its Mercedes power unit. ‘It just hurts seeing this’ Norris felt his qualifying lap itself was strong, making the…