Lando Norris expressed his irritation over an engine malfunction that hindered his performance during the qualifying session in Sepang.

“Yeah,” he responded when questioned about his slower performance on the straights as a result of an ongoing issue with the power unit.

This challenge has affected McLaren since the outset of the 2026 regulations, as customer teams faced the drawback of lacking prior experience with the significantly more intricate engines.

The reigning champions took time to address this issue - Spa in July marked a breakthrough as McLaren received updated components, but Sepang demonstrated that further enhancements are necessary.

Lando Norris, McLaren

“I felt like my lap was very strong,” said the reigning champion Norris. “It's challenging. I'm pleased because I'm still facing a lot of difficulties on the straights everywhere.

“I'm just lacking speed on every single straight, so even when I have a good exit, I find myself slower at the end of the straight.

“It’s frustrating to see this every single time. I should be higher on the grid, not necessarily because I could have performed better, but simply because we're not extracting everything we need from the car.

“That doesn't just complicate my situation today, but it also poses challenges for tomorrow.”

The Malaysian race weekend has been tough for McLaren, who finished 11th and 12th in FP1 and did not place higher than third in the subsequent practice sessions.

Consequently, Piastri was not surprised by the outcome of qualifying, stating that Sepang “really reveals” the MCL40's vulnerabilities and expressed cautious optimism for Sunday’s race.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

“We looked decent in the long runs yesterday, but our runs were a bit shorter than everyone else’s,” Piastri remarked, noting that McLaren ranked second in long run averages, two tenths behind Red Bull.

“Based on the number of laps we completed, it appears quite promising, but not outstanding compared to the rest.

“Clearly, dirty air is a significant factor here due to the high-speed sections and lengthy corners, so we will have to wait and observe.

“I anticipate a lot of strategy will come into play given the tire degradation, but I don't foresee a drastically different situation tomorrow.”