Mark Webber fears McLaren have ‘mice in the machinery’ after latest DNF in Monaco

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Mark Webber has addressed McLaren’s ongoing reliability issues after Lando Norris’ DNF at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Norris was running sixth when he retired from the Monaco GP on lap 45 out of 78. He had already broken down earlier in the weekend, stopping on track during FP2.

This was Norris’ second straight DNF after he encountered a gearbox issue in Canada. He also failed to even make the grid for the Chinese GP in March.

Mark Webber on McLaren’s ‘really rough run’ of failures

McLaren’s defence of the F1 title has been blighted by unreliability thus far. While Oscar Piastri brought home a P4 in Monaco, they have now fallen 126 points behind engine suppliers Mercedes.

The Silver Arrows have had some issues themselves, with George Russell retiring from the lead of the Canadian GP, but not on the scale of McLaren.

“China, Montreal and now here,” Webber, who’s part of Piastri’s management, told Channel 4. “There’s a lot of mice in the machinery there, which clearly they’re going to be working really hard to understand, whether it’s on the Merc side, the battery side.

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“They’ve won two titles, so they know what they’re doing, but so far, it’s been a really rough run for the whole team, so they need to get on top of that – and they will be working hard – as quick as possible.”

Piastri, who was also sidelined for the Chinese GP in McLaren’s first double DNS since 2005, acknowledges the team’s issues go beyond a pace deficit.

“We need to work across the board, because it’s not just lap time that we’re missing,” he told the same broadcaster. “We’re having some issues with getting laps on the board.

• READ MORE: Lando Norris says McLaren can’t even ‘expect’ podiums right now after Monaco Grand Prix DNF

“Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for Lando, it’s been mostly on his car at the moment, but it’s never good to see a McLaren in the pits before the end of the race.”

Piastri and Norris are currently sitting fifth and sixth in the standings, separated by just two points. Both drivers’ hopes of winning the championship, or retaining it in Norris’ case, are rapidly evaporating.

In terms of lap time, this was perhaps McLaren’s poorest showing of the year. They locked out the fourth row in qualifying, six-tenths off the pace set by polesitter Kimi Antonelli.