Norris frustrated after pit lane clash with Leclerc, struggles in Singapore practice
Lando Norris had a day to forget in Singapore after a costly pit lane incident with Charles Leclerc damaged his McLaren during Friday practice.
The collision happened when Leclerc seemingly failed to notice Norris approaching on his right, resulting in damage to the nose of the MCL39.
“It cost the team a bit of money, which is a shame,” Norris said, clearly disappointed by the avoidable incident.
But the pit lane drama wasn’t even his biggest concern.
“Just a difficult day for me, not feeling too great with the car. I’m missing all the sensations I had here last year, so there’s plenty to work on. Just a bad day.”
What made things worse was watching his teammate Oscar Piastri top the timesheets.
“Oscar’s quick, so I’ve got nothing to complain about — I’m just not doing a very good job,” Norris admitted candidly.
## Norris struggling to match teammate’s pace
After getting his front wing replaced following the Leclerc contact, Norris rejoined the track hoping to put in a competitive lap on soft tires.
It didn’t go as planned.
While Piastri set the fastest time of the day with a blistering 1:30.714, Norris couldn’t find his rhythm.
He finished fifth behind Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, trailing his Australian teammate by nearly half a second.
This performance gap will be concerning for Norris, who typically excels on street circuits like Singapore.
The British driver will need to find answers quickly before qualifying if he hopes to challenge for pole position on Saturday.
Last year’s “sensations” that Norris mentioned helped him secure a strong result at Marina Bay, but those feelings seem to have disappeared overnight.
With McLaren bringing upgrades to fight for the constructors’ championship, they’ll need both drivers performing at their best this weekend.