Lando Norris admitted McLaren has underperformed over the last two race weekends at Baku and Sepang, acknowledging the team needs to do a better job moving forward. The reigning champion has been plagued by unspecified straightline speed issues that cost him qualifying positions in recent events.
Norris described being frustrated by two weekends of trying to figure out the constant lack of straightline speed and performance, noting it cost him two or three positions in qualifying battles. The McLaren team has been working extensively to understand what they could learn from Malaysia and how to return to their previous competitive level.
The British driver explained that Baku and Malaysia haven't played to McLaren's strengths compared to earlier venues like Madrid, but emphasized they have still been underperforming regardless of track characteristics. He noted the team has been working hard on both obvious issues like straightline speed and more technical aspects to unlock the car's potential.
Norris expressed hope the straightline speed deficit would improve for Singapore, where straights are not the highest priority compared to recent weekends. However, he emphasized that drivers always want maximum speed on straights rather than coming out of corners better only to go slower down the following straight.