Oscar Piastri and Randy Singh explain McLaren’s “surprise” in Friday practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

McLaren’s Friday at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia ended with a clearer sense of direction after a mixed opening day. Oscar Piastri, reflecting on the team’s first two practice sessions, said McLaren appeared to have taken a “tiny step behind” compared with the leading group, despite making progress across the day.

Piastri and Lando Norris completed FP1 with differing results on the timesheets, with Piastri in 11th and Norris 12th. In FP2, Norris improved to third, and Piastri recorded the sixth-fastest time of the hour, indicating that McLaren’s pace had come forward during the second practice.

Speaking after the running, Piastri said FP1 had been difficult for the team. “We definitely looked better in FP2 than FP1,” the Australian said. He added that FP1 had involved “struggling a lot,” while FP2 appeared more positive as the team adapted its approach.

Piastri also linked Friday’s character to an unexpected shift in track conditions versus what many were anticipating. He said expectations of rain did not materialize, which meant tyre choices and other variables were “a little bit different to normal,” though he felt the session still looked “reasonable.” He did not provide a specific estimate of long-run performance, saying he did not know what the long run pace was like.

Looking ahead to qualifying, Piastri suggested the top end of the field could be tightly grouped. “I think it looks pretty, pretty close amongst the top four teams,” he said, describing Red Bull as “very strong through the day,” while also noting Mercedes had shown pace at points and Ferrari had been “pretty good.” He concluded that McLaren may be marginally behind but emphasized progress from FP1 and the need to build on it.

McLaren Senior Racing Director Randy Singh echoed the idea that conditions played a significant role in the team’s early-day struggles. He said the track presented less grip than expected and was also “a lot rougher,” which he said “caught us a little bit by surprise.” Singh added that McLaren had struggled to get the car into a good operating window during FP1.

Singh credited both on-track work and preparation at the factory for the improvement seen in FP2. “I think the car is in a much better place,” he said, framing the Friday turnaround as the result of continued development between sessions rather than a single-session flash of performance.

Asked whether McLaren could be in contention for pole position on Saturday, Singh kept the focus on maximizing the package rather than forecasting a specific outcome. He said the team was concentrating on “doing the best we can” with what it had, and that there was still “lots of potential” to exploit, though he added that it was “very hard to say at this stage.”