Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disagree about McLaren’s disappointing Chinese Grand Prix performance

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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri disagreed about McLaren’s potential after qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix. For the second weekend in a row, they locked out the third row.

Like in Australia, Piastri was the quicker of the two drivers. He struck back after losing out to Norris in both Sprint sessions.

Piastri, who took pole and won this Grand Prix last year, was seven-tenths adrift of polesitter Kimi Antonelli as McLaren continue to be outclassed by engine suppliers Mercedes.

Kimi Antonelli will lead the grid in the 2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix

Predict one driver to spring a surprise in Shanghai on Sunday!

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Lando Norris thinks McLaren could have beaten Ferrari in Chinese Grand Prix qualifying

Speaking to Sky Sports after the session, Norris indicated that he could have been third on the grid, ahead of both Ferrari cars, if he had nailed his lap in Q3. He set a 1:32.608, while Lewis Hamilton posted a 1:32.415.

Norris got the better of the scarlet red cars in Sprint qualifying, but the Scuderia promptly reasserted their status as Mercedes’ nearest challengers. He was also confused by McLaren’s delta to their rivals on the straights.

“There was a little bit more, honestly,” said Norris. “My final sector’s been pretty poor. We’ve been losing a little bit on the straights to some of the other cars and we need to understand why. A tenth and a half, which is almost three positions today.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton ‘bullied’ Lando Norris in the F1 Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix, says Sam Bird

“I made quite a big mistake on my final lap there. Give or take, we are now where we deserve to be and where we should be. It looks close to the Ferrari and we definitely want to give them a fight tomorrow. It’s clear today that they have advantages which we struggle to get on top of.”

Anthony Davidson claimed before the weekend that McLaren can still win the title, pointing to Max Verstappen’s remarkable 2025 comeback, but they must not let George Russell and Antonelli scamper too far down the road.

‘We’re just lacking grip’ – Oscar Piastri’s verdict on McLaren

Intriguingly, Piastri praised McLaren’s progress on the power unit front, even though that was an area of frustration for Norris. He is more focused on McLaren’s weakness in the corners, where they are ‘lacking grip’.

He also sounded convinced that he had achieved the car’s realistic potential by qualifying fifth.

“I think we are a bit behind at the moment,” he said. “The order is probably about where it should be. It’s just all the corners. We probably did a better job today of maximising the power unit, but we’re just lacking grip at the moment.”

Piastri still hasn’t driven the McLaren car in a full race after crashing out of the Australian GP on his lap to the grid, so he will learn much more about the MCL40 on Sunday.