Lando Norris straight-line speed issue has left the McLaren driver frustrated and uncertain whether his team can find a solution ahead of this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.
"I have no idea," Norris told Sky Sports F1 when asked if the problem could be fixed in time for the Sprint weekend, noting that he is losing nearly two tenths of a second per lap.
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SubscribeThe reigning world champion has endured disappointing recent outings in Azerbaijan and Malaysia, where he struggled to match teammate Oscar Piastri and managed only a ninth-place finish last time out.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella acknowledged that rivals may have out-developed them with larger upgrade steps, though he emphasized that unique track conditions in Malaysia may have distorted their performance data.
Andrea Stella Discusses Rapidly Changing F1 Field
Despite bringing their own car upgrades to recent rounds, the Woking-based squad is racing against time to diagnose the speed deficit before cars hit the track at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Andrea Stella pointed out that the competitive landscape in Formula 1 has shifted rapidly following recent race weekends, raising questions about the true impact of recent car developments.
While McLaren enjoyed dominant form earlier in the season following major upgrade packages introduced in Hungary and Zandvoort, subsequent rounds have exposed unexpected vulnerabilities.
Stella noted that the extreme ambient temperatures and abrasive asphalt layout in Malaysia created outlier conditions that require deeper analysis from the engineering department.