Piastri says fourth was about McLaren’s best; Norris says he did not deliver a good lap

After Singapore Sprint Qualifying, Oscar Piastri thought fourth was about the best McLaren could manage. Lando Norris said he had not put together a good lap.

In the FIA’s provisional Sprint Qualifying classification, Piastri was fourth with a 1:31.454 SQ3 lap; Norris was fifth on 1:31.587.

“I think that was more or less what we could’ve done,” Piastri said. He said he had struggled on the medium tyre but felt happier on the softs, adding that the car’s general feel was no different from usual.

Norris said he did not think track conditions explained his two flying laps. He had not put together a good lap, he said: “No excuse.”

McLaren had also worked to fix the straight-line-speed issue that affected Norris at Sepang. Norris said many things seemed good and added: “We seem closer as a team.” He did not yet know everything, he said, and the team was still looking into it.