Randorris says he doesn’t have the same feeling for the car that won last year’s Singapore Grand Prix after struggling during practice on Friday.
McLaren dominated all laps 12 months ago with Norris winning Max Verstappen over 20 seconds and leading the way from pole position. However, starting this weekend, Norris has finished FP2 fifth in fifth place and has finished a 0.5-second ad-lift from teammate Oscar Piastri, saying he hasn’t been happy with the MCL39 so far.
“It’s a difficult day for me and I don’t feel very good in the car,” Norris said. “We lack all the emotions that were here last year, so there’s a lot to tackle, just a bad day.
“Oscars are quick so there’s nothing to complain about. The bar doesn’t do a very good job.”
After the second of the two red flags, Norris ran through contact with Charles Leclerc when the Ferrari driver was released into the pit lane road, but Britton shrugged the incident and said, “I mean, it costs a bit of money on the team.
On the other side of the garage, the championship leader Piastri has become brighter.
“At the end there, I think I found my foot in the medium (tyre) above,” Piastri said. “And the softness feels good. It’s obviously not a typical type of race running, but the car is in a good place. I feel like I’ve learned a lot today, and that’s the purpose of my practice, so it was a good day.”
Given the importance of the track position in Singapore, Piastri was pleased at the expense of the high fuel running behind, in order to prioritize his senses in the qualifying trim.
“Qualifying is a big part of the weekend here. It’s a big part everywhere, but I think it’s one of the most important things, especially here,” he said. “So you want to qualify more and deal with the unknowns of the race, and you can go back and qualify, but you know exactly what happens in the race.
Max Verstappen is the closest rival to the two McLarens in the drivers’ championship, and after finishing both practice sessions in third place, Dutchman will be encouraged by the start of the weekend.
“I think FP1 started very well,” Verstappen said. “We were on track, the car wasn’t that bad. It was a bit similar to the last two weekends where there were no major issues. I’ve tried a few things with FP2 after that, and some were good.
“It’s definitely very positive (to get started well on this circuit). Still, there are some things we want to do better, but that’s a good thing because we don’t have to throw away the setup completely. We’ll be watching tomorrow.
“Little details (materials) – keep the tires alive throughout the front grip, rear grip, and wrap. The tires get pretty overheated around here. All of these things need to be a little better.
