Lando Norris now on the cusp of a grid penalty as McLaren face more battery issues at Japanese GP

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Lando Norris has endured an issue-ridden start to his Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, and another issue with the energy recovery system in his Mercedes power unit now puts him just one new battery pack away from a grid penalty.

The reigning world champion has faced a swathe of issues during the start of his title defence this season, with an electrical fault in his McLaren MCL40 completely scuppering his chances of competing in the previous Grand Prix in China.

A new battery was issued for the Briton, but the issues with the same component in Japan saw McLaren engineers scramble to get Norris’ car ready in time for the third and final practice session of the weekend.

Mercedes had a 0.8s gap over their rivals in FP3 😮‍💨 Can anyone challenge them in Suzuka?

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He finally emerged from the pit lane with around 25 minutes of running left to go, but the lack of mileage at the start of the session only added to the deficit in laps he already had to his rivals ahead of the final practice session.

A hydraulic issue ended his FP1 early, and took the Woking-based mechanics up until halfway through FP2 to figure out a satisfactory fix for the problem.

• READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli tops Japanese Grand Prix FP3 after Lando Norris suffers another McLaren issue

Lando Norris will now face a grid penalty if McLaren introduce another battery pack into his 2026 pool

During Sky Sports F1’s coverage of FP3 at Suzuka, pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz explained how Norris now has all three of his allocated battery packs for the entire season present in his pool, which means he will face a grid penalty if the issue crops up again.

He said, “On fire up, they found there was a problem with the battery pack, and bear in mind that it was already the second of the three that he’s allowed for the season.

“So, this is number three going in now. Of course, once they identify and they’re able to fix the pool of three batteries, then that might mean that you can do half a season or maybe more on three energy recovery system battery packs.

“Use more than three, and you’ll get a grid penalty. That’s probably the least of Lando Norris’ worries, something for the future.”

McLaren have experienced a swathe of issues in getting to grips with Mercedes’ 2026 power unit, while the works team have enjoyed a dominant advantage at the front of the field.

Andrea Stella was expecting a performance boost following the conclusion of pre-season testing, but the lack of guidance that the Brixworth-based engine manufacturers have given has proved to be an issue for their customers.

• READ MORE: F1 Japanese Grand Prix 2026: How to watch, race and qualifying start times and weather forecast

Ted Kravitz noted how Mercedes are wary of the same issue hindering George Russell or Kimi Antonelli

Of course, the issues that McLaren have been experiencing with their faulty Mercedes battery packs will be of interest to personnel from the leading team on the grid, and Kravitz spotted engineers from the Silver Arrows keeping a watchful eye on the matter inside the pit lane.

During FP3, Kravitz told his colleagues on Sky Sports, “Somebody from Mercedes has actually been into the garage. I mean, Mercedes rather than Mercedes High Performance Powertrains on the McLaren side.

“So, one of the top battery guys from Mercedes, I’ve just seen him poke his nose in the back of the McLaren garage because of course they’re neighbours in the pit lane, and what happens for McLaren could so easily happen to George Russell or Kimi Antonelli.

“So Mercedes wants to understand exactly what the problem is, what McLaren are doing to fix it, and diagnosing everything on that side of the garage.”