McLaren Prepares Engine Adjustments for Singapore

McLaren has made a move to address one of the problems that has weighed on Lando Norris most in recent races. The British team has made a series of changes to auxiliary components of the Mercedes power unit, including the fuel system, to eliminate the failure that affected the driver in Baku and Malaysia. The decision comes after two frustrating weekends in which Norris has been surpassed in top speed by his direct rivals.

The problem began at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where McLaren was considerably slower on the long straights than Mercedes, its engine supplier. Although the deficit was partly due to the MCL40's inherent weaknesses and its use of the Mercedes unit, Norris's car was particularly short on top speed in qualifying because of what McLaren identified as a fuel-injection problem. The failure reappeared intermittently in the race, also in Oscar Piastri's car to a lesser extent, and once again harmed the team at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

McLaren has decided to intervene in components on the team's side, not the German manufacturer's; it is a series of adjustments to the fuel system and other auxiliary elements carried out before the first free practice session in Singapore. The objective is clear: recover lost top speed and give Norris a competitive car in the battle he maintains with Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull for the top positions.

Norris showed himself cautious but hopeful with the solution: "I have hope; first, we have to go out on track and see how much it has improved. They have been two frustrating weekends trying to figure out what the problem has been and why there has been a constant lack of speed and performance on the straights, and especially in this type of battle in which we have been, in the last two qualifying sessions, they have been two or three positions, so it has been quite hard for me," declared the reigning world champion.

In theory, Singapore is one of the circuits least sensitive to power on the calendar, since its straights aren't as long or decisive as Baku's or Sepang's. However, with the battle so tight among the top four teams, McLaren cannot afford to leave any performance on the table: "Obviously it's also a circuit where the straights are not the maximum priority and are not as damaging as in the last weekends, but even so you always want to go down the straights as fast as you should be able to and it's always hard when you exit the corners better and end up going slower," Norris explained.

The British driver also assumed his part of the responsibility and trusted in the team's work: "At the same time, obviously there are also things I can do better, but I trust that the team has done a good job. They have worked a lot to try to understand things, and I have hope that this weekend will go better, but honestly, first I have to get back on track and see it," he added.

Beyond the specific fuel problem, Singapore represents an important test for McLaren, as it seeks to determine whether its puzzling lack of performance in Malaysia was an isolated incident or a symptom of a deeper issue with the MCL40's behavior.