Norris blames Sepang tarmac as McLaren struggle in Bahrain GP qualifying

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/norris-lando/WSVABbVF/"]Norris[/a] qualified sixth-fastest, sixth tenths of a second slower ‌than pole sitter [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Max Verstappen[/a], but will start fifth ‌after Red Bull's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hadjar-isack/8SAk38Ui/"]Isack Hadjar[/a] received a grid penalty that ‌drops him from third to eighth.[/p][p]The McLaren driver, who ‌is fourth in the championship, did not mince words about his car's performance on the Sepang tarmac.[/p][p][b]"We are just slow. The car's ‌not good enough here," Norris told reporters.[/b][/p][p][b]"This ⁠tarmac is very different ‌to a lot of other tracks we have been to this ​year, and therefore I think you see Mercedes struggle a lot more today, especially; you see ​Red Bull quicker than they usually are.[/b][/p][p][b]"So I think the order has shaken up a little bit and I ⁠think we struggle a ​little bit more than what we were expecting because of the surface."[/b][/p][embed guid="f1113858-b3a8-472e-ac7c-e229ab8c4484" url="https://x.com/McLarenF1/status/2106333851903549474" social-type="twitter" /][p]Norris said he was pleased with his final qualifying lap and felt he had extracted the maximum from the ‌car.[/p][p][b]"However, it's clear we are a long way off the pace. My car is struggling with speed on the straights, and we've lacked general pace all weekend," he added.[/b][/p][p][b]"So starting fifth is not a surprise. We don't expect any miracles, and it's obvious the Red Bulls are in a class of their own here."[/b][/p][p]His teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/piastri-oscar/MqKAIeUf/"]Oscar Piastri[/a] was seventh fastest but will line up alongside ‌Norris on the third row due to Hadjar's penalty.[/p][p][b]"Not quite ​the session we wanted. We're struggling a bit for ‌pace here. But overall I was reasonably happy with things," Piastri said.[/b][/p][p][b]"An extra tenth (of a second) would have been good... We were just not quite quick enough here unfortunately. It's going to be a race ⁠where we can do ⁠a lot with strategy - ‌and then hopefully pace."[/b][/p]