"Not loads of problems, just one big problem" - Lando Norris details McLaren's woes after Bahrain GP

Lando Norris says McLaren’s woes at the Bahrain GP were down to just “one big problem” rather than multiple issues plaguing the car.

According to the Briton, the MCL36 lacks downforce, despite having a good balance. Speaking ahead of the Saudi Arabian GP, he said:

“There’s not loads of problems. It’s just one, I guess, one big problem which is very costly in the world of Formula One. “[We are lacking] downforce, just overall grip. It’s quite a simple thing. Like there’s quite a few times when the balance has been in a decent place but if you are just slow down then it’s quite a simple thing what you need.”

McLaren looked impressive in Barcelona's first pre-season test, with both Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris feeling comfortable with the new car. The team topped the timing charts on several occasions throughout the test, while suffering virtually zero reliability issues.

As the paddock moved to Bahrain, however, McLaren’s fortunes changed. The car lacked grip while also suffering from overheating issues.

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McLaren’s confidence ebbed away as rivals made bigger steps: Lando Norris

Lando Norris said McLaren were blindsided during the first test in Barcelona when the car seemed to be working as expected.

The team reportedly focussed on optimizing the car while their rivals worked on bigger issues and took greater steps. As other teams brought upgrades, especially in Bahrain, McLaren started to realize their approach had been wrong. Speaking ahead of the Bahrain GP, Norris said:

“It’s weird because we started off in [Barcelona]. That’s just what confused us. We were a little bit stronger in Barcelona, started off with a decent car. But we just didn’t make a lot of progress because it was a car which just went on to the track very well.”

He then went on to add, saying:

“We understood how to optimize the car very quickly. All the other teams were able to take steps forward were continuing to find out about the car and make bigger steps. There was more hope after Barcelona, but that slowly went away as everyone else was able to find out more about the car and bring bigger upgrades.”

Meanwhile, Lando Norris has revealed that the team is yet to get to the bottom of its issues. The team is reportedly hard at work trying to solve the issues and understand the car better back at base in the McLaren Technology Center (MTC). Norris hopes that they can resolve the problems quickly and get back to the fight at the front.