McLaren aims to address Lando Norris' expensive fuel system problem with adjustments to the power unit for the Singapore F1 race.
The McLaren F1 squad has implemented several minor modifications to Lando Norris' Mercedes engine in an effort to eliminate a recurring fuel system issue.
Two weeks ago in Baku, McLaren was significantly lagging behind on the long straights compared to Mercedes, the engine supplier. While part of this gap was attributed to inherent car limitations and the way the Mercedes unit was utilized, Norris' vehicle was particularly lacking in top speed during qualifying due to what was identified as a fuel injection problem. This issue resurfaced intermittently during the race, affecting Oscar Piastri's car to a lesser degree, and continued to trouble the team in last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
It has been reported that McLaren has opted to make several adjustments to auxiliary components associated with the power unit, including the fuel system—which is managed by the team rather than Mercedes—before Singapore FP1 in hopes of addressing the problem.
"[I am] optimistic. We need to hit the track first and assess how much improvement there is," Norris remarked on Thursday.
"It's been a frustrating couple of weekends trying to understand what the problem has been and why there's been a persistent lack of straight-line speed and overall performance. Especially in the recent qualifying sessions, I've lost two or three positions, which has set me back quite a bit."
Singapore is considered one of the circuit layouts on the F1 calendar that is less reliant on power, but with a tight contest anticipated among the leading four teams, McLaren cannot afford to leave any performance unutilized, making FP1 a crucial moment to determine if their fuel system woes are behind them.
"It’s obviously a track where straight-line speed isn’t as critical and isn’t as punishing as it has been in the past few weekends," the reigning world champion noted. "However, you still want to maximize your speed down the straights, and it’s challenging when you exit corners well but end up being slower."
"At the same time, I know there’s room for improvement on my end as well. But I’m confident that the team has put in a solid effort. They’ve dedicated a lot of time to solving these issues, and I’m hopeful it will be better this weekend. However, I truly need to get out on track and experience it first."
More broadly, Singapore serves as a significant test for McLaren to determine if their puzzling performance drop in Malaysia was an anomaly. The Sepang circuit was anticipated to align with the strengths of the MCL40, yet McLaren ended up being only the fourth-fastest team on the track, potentially related to how the car’s aerodynamics interacted with the extremely bumpy surface.
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