Norris and Piastri divided after Singapore Sprint Qualifying as McLaren secures fourth and fifth

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris walked away from Sprint Qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix with clearly different emotions after qualifying in the top five—Piastri fourth and Norris fifth.

Piastri said the result represented the best outcome McLaren could realistically achieve at Marina Bay, describing the session as “very tricky on a Sprint weekend to get all the lap time out of the car here.” He explained that tyre choice made a noticeable difference, saying he was struggling on the medium before the car “came alive” once soft tyres were used.

Asked what he found most difficult on the track after previously referencing issues through Turns 2 and 3, Piastri said he had difficulty with “a few things in the car through there.” He added that while it was “a little bit better now,” the overall character of the car had not fundamentally changed, emphasizing that performance requires getting the most out of the vehicle: “You’ve got to really wring its neck to be quick.”

Norris, meanwhile, acknowledged that team work to address a straight-line speed concern—an issue that had affected him previously at Sepang—appeared to move McLaren forward. However, he remained dissatisfied with his personal performance in Sprint Qualifying.

According to the session’s progression described by the drivers, a hectic SQ3 saw Norris initially claim the top spot ahead of Piastri and rivals from Mercedes. With Ferrari and Red Bull choosing different moments to run, the competitive timing shift ultimately demoted Norris to fifth.

When Norris was asked whether difficult conditions could explain his two flying laps, he rejected the idea outright. “No, I don’t think that’s the reason. I just don’t think I put together a very good lap—that was all. No excuse,” he said, framing the outcome as a straightforward execution problem rather than external factors.

Norris also suggested the broader picture within the team was improving, noting that from what he had seen so far things appeared positive: “We seem closer as a team.” But he reiterated that the decisive factor was his own result, adding that he was “happy” with the progress visible around the squad while concluding, “It’s just simply that I didn't do a good enough job.”