McLaren arrived at F1 Singapore GP’s Sprint Qualifying with one clear objective: extract maximum performance from a car that remains demanding around Marina Bay. Oscar Piastri was able to find the limit. Lando Norris was left with a lap he felt he could have done more in. The result was fourth and fifth on the grid. Both McLaren drivers gave contrasting responses about the 2026 F1 Sprint Qualifying at Singapore.
Piastri pleased with soft tyre step
Piastri climbed out of the car satisfied. The Australian felt he had squeezed everything available from the MCL40 across the F1 Sprint Qualifying 3 session. His tone carried the satisfaction of a driver who knew the limit had been reached.
“Yeah, pretty happy there. I think that was more or less what we could have done. You know, it’s very, very tricky on a sprint weekend to get all the lap time out of the car here.”
The Singapore street circuit punishes hesitation, and with only one practice session before competitive running, Piastri acknowledged the compromise every team faced. However, the switch to softs transformed his confidence.
“But, no, I felt like on the soft, things came alive a lot more. I was struggling on the medium, and then once we put the soft on, I felt pretty happy. So, yeah, not a bad effort.”
Turns 2 and 3 had troubled him earlier in the day, and the McLaren driver confirmed those corners remained a focus throughout Sprint Qualifying.
“Yeah, I was struggling with a few things in the car through there. It was a little bit better now, but, yeah, I think just the general feeling of the car. You know, it’s not any different to what it normally is.”
Ultimately, the Singapore layout demands aggression, and Piastri made no secret of that.
“You’ve got to really wring its neck to the quick. And, yeah, once we added a bit more grip in with the soft, it was a bit better. But, yeah, still a challenge.”
Norris: No excuses
Norris offered no mitigation. Asked directly whether he felt he didn’t get the best of the track conditions, he explained the deficit to the front during F1 Sprint Qualifying at Singapore, the McLaren driver shut the suggestion down immediately.
He had looked very quick, including on the first attempt in SQ3.
“No, I don’t think that’s the reason. I just don’t think I put together a very good lap. So that was all. No excuse.”
The fuel injection problem that hampered recent rounds appeared improved, yet Norris refused to lean on it. Moreover, he confirmed the team continued investigating the issue behind the scenes.
“Yeah, I think so from what I’ve seen so far. I don’t know everything just yet, to be honest. The guys are still looking into it and it’s been a busy day.”
Despite the personal shortfall, Norris pointed to broader progress within the garage. The Singapore Sprint Qualifying result stung, but the McLaren F1 team’s trajectory encouraged him.
“No, a lot of things seem good. We seem closer as a team. Just simply, I didn’t do a good enough job.”
Fuel fix and sprint implications
The fuel injection remedy McLaren brought to Singapore was never expected to deliver a dramatic swing at Marina Bay. The circuit’s short straights mask the straight-line deficit that hurt the team in Baku and Malaysia. Nevertheless, Norris confirmed the direction looked positive.
For the Sprint itself, the soft tyre’s behaviour offers encouragement. Piastri found grip where the medium offered little, and that bodes well across 21 laps. Starting fourth and fifth gives McLaren a platform to attack the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc ahead.
