Lando Norris says he has “no excuse” for qualifying fifth in the Singapore Grand Prix sprint, after McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri beat him by 0.133 seconds in the final session.

Lando Norris has taken responsibility for his disappointing result in 2026 Singapore Grand Prix sprint qualifying. The reigning Formula 1 world champion finished fifth in SQ3, while Oscar Piastri secured fourth place in the other McLaren MCL40.

Norris had been faster than Piastri in SQ2, building a 0.534-second advantage. However, the Australian turned the tables in the decisive session, leaving Norris to admit that his final lap was not good enough.

Norris finished fifth in sprint qualifying after losing ground to Piastri in SQ3.

Norris Takes Responsibility for His Qualifying Result

Norris did not blame the car or external circumstances for the gap to his teammate. Instead, he admitted that he failed to deliver a strong lap when it mattered most.

“I just don’t think I did a very good lap. That’s all, no excuse,” Norris said.

The Briton had shown encouraging pace earlier in the session. He finished seventh in SQ1, just 0.020 seconds ahead of Piastri, before moving up to third in SQ2.

But that pace did not carry over into SQ3. Piastri ultimately beat him by 0.133 seconds, securing fourth place on the sprint grid.

Norris acknowledged that McLaren appeared to be working better as a team, despite his individual mistake.

“Many things seem to be going well. We seem more together as a team. I simply didn’t do a good job,” he explained.

McLaren Addresses Its Fuel Injection Problems

McLaren arrived in Singapore after struggling with fuel injection problems in Baku and Malaysia. The issue reduced the MCL40’s speed on the straights, prompting the team to introduce a solution for the Marina Bay weekend.

Norris was cautiously positive about the fix, although he said the team was still analyzing its effectiveness.

“I think so, from what I’ve seen so far. To be honest, I don’t know everything yet. The guys are still investigating it, and it’s been a busy day,” he said.

McLaren introduced a solution after fuel injection issues affected straight-line speed in previous races.

The improvement could help McLaren address one of its recent weaknesses. However, Norris’ qualifying result suggests that the team still needs to maximize its overall performance across every session.

Piastri Beats Norris for the Third Time in Five Sessions

Piastri’s fourth-place finish marked another strong qualifying performance against his teammate. The Australian has now beaten Norris in three of the last five qualifying sessions, including the difficult weekend in Baku.

That run follows an earlier stretch in which Norris outqualified Piastri eight consecutive times between Barcelona and Zandvoort.

Piastri was satisfied with his performance and believed fourth place was close to McLaren’s potential in Singapore.

“I’m pretty happy. I think that was more or less what we could do,” he said.

The Australian also highlighted the importance of tire choice. He struggled to find the right feeling on the medium compound but felt more comfortable once McLaren switched to soft tires.

Soft Tires Help Piastri Find More Pace

Piastri said the soft tires gave him more grip and improved the car’s response, particularly through the first sector of the Singapore circuit.

He had experienced some difficulties in that section earlier in the session, but the balance improved with the softer compound.

The Australian nevertheless stressed that extracting maximum performance from the MCL40 remained challenging. He described the overall feel of the car as familiar, with additional grip helping him improve his lap time.

Piastri found more confidence on soft tires and secured fourth place for the sprint.

Norris Needs a Strong Response in the Sprint

The Singapore sprint offers Norris an immediate opportunity to recover positions. His pace in SQ2 suggests that the McLaren has competitive potential, but he will need a cleaner execution to challenge the drivers ahead.

Piastri, meanwhile, will aim to build on his fourth-place qualifying result and maintain his recent advantage in the internal McLaren battle.

The team also has reason to monitor the fuel injection solution as the weekend continues. For Norris, however, the immediate priority is clear: deliver a stronger lap when the next opportunity arrives.

Mercedes says its latest W17 upgrades are not a failure, but the new package has made the car less stable and harder to drive ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

Mercedes is facing new questions about its W17 Formula 1 upgrades after struggling across two consecutive race weekends. The team believes the latest package offers greater performance potential, but drivers are finding it harder to extract that speed consistently.

George Russell returned to an earlier specification for sprint qualifying in Singapore. Meanwhile, Andrea Kimi Antonelli remained on the newer configuration and qualified seventh, around half a second behind his teammate.

The comparison has given Mercedes useful data. However, it has also exposed a key weakness: the updated car appears to have a narrower operating window and a less predictable balance.

Mercedes is comparing different W17 configurations to understand the impact of its latest upgrades.

Why the Mercedes W17 Is Harder to Drive

Mercedes introduced its latest major upgrade package at the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend. The team then struggled to match Max Verstappen’s pace, while Russell suffered a late engine failure.

The results raised doubts about the new aerodynamic package. However, Mercedes believes the situation is more complicated than a simple failed upgrade.

Russell had a grid penalty for Sunday’s main race in Singapore, giving the team a reason to experiment with an older specification. Running different configurations also allowed Mercedes to compare the cars directly, something it could not do during the previous weekend.

The early evidence suggests the new package could offer a higher performance ceiling. The problem is that drivers may find it more difficult to reach that potential.

Mercedes Admits the Updated Car Is Less Stable

Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord explained that the latest package has changed the car’s handling characteristics.

“Kimi said that seventh was all he could get today,” Lord explained.

He added that the new specification produces a less consistent balance and makes slow corners more difficult. Understeer forces drivers to carry more speed into corners, while the car can feel nervous on entry to faster turns.

These characteristics reduce driver confidence. In Formula 1, even a potentially faster aerodynamic concept can lose its advantage if drivers cannot push consistently through a lap.

Antonelli’s seventh-place sprint qualifying result highlighted the handling challenges facing Mercedes.

Why Mercedes Cannot Fully Reverse the Upgrade

Mercedes has made some adjustments to Antonelli’s car, including switching to an older front wing. However, the team cannot simply restore the entire previous specification.

The updated package uses a different aerodynamic concept around the sidepods and associated bodywork. Returning to the old configuration would require substantial work rather than a straightforward component swap.

Bradley Lord confirmed that the team could not revert fully during the Singapore weekend. He said the conversion would require around two days of work, and the available time between sessions was insufficient.

Parc fermé regulations also restrict major changes once the relevant qualifying period begins. Although the rules allow a limited window between the sprint and main-race qualifying, Mercedes does not have enough time to rebuild the car around the earlier concept.

Mercedes Must Find a More Consistent Setup

The immediate priority is to improve the W17’s balance with the components already installed. Mercedes wants to give Antonelli a more stable platform while helping both drivers extract more performance from the updated package.

The experiment in Singapore is therefore about gathering information as much as chasing an immediate result. Comparing Russell’s older configuration with Antonelli’s newer setup should help the engineers understand where the gains and weaknesses lie.

Mercedes is using the Singapore weekend to study how different W17 configurations affect performance.

What the W17 Upgrade Means for Mercedes

Mercedes has not abandoned its latest development direction. Instead, the team is trying to determine how to make the new package more predictable without sacrificing its potential performance gains.

The key question is whether engineers can improve the balance enough for Russell and Antonelli to exploit the updated aerodynamics consistently.

For now, the W17 appears to have become more demanding to drive. Mercedes must turn the data collected in Singapore into a more stable setup if it wants the upgrade to deliver the results the team expected.

Lewis Hamilton believes modern Formula 1 has become more cautious in the rain, while experienced drivers still want to embrace the challenge of extreme conditions.

Lewis Hamilton has reflected on how much wet-weather Formula 1 racing has changed during his career.

The seven-time world champion enjoyed the challenge of driving in difficult conditions at Sepang, particularly during a period when he was using dry-weather tires on a slippery track.

For Hamilton, those moments bring back memories of his early career and highlight the instinct and sensitivity that drivers can show when grip becomes unpredictable.

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed the challenge of driving in difficult conditions at Sepang.

Hamilton Wants More Opportunities to Race in the Rain

Hamilton recalled his reaction when rain began to fall at Sepang.

Instead of seeing the conditions as a reason to slow down, he immediately looked forward to the opportunity to fight other drivers on a difficult track.

The seven-time champion also made clear that he did not blame race officials for how the situation was handled.

Hamilton acknowledged that unexpected problems can develop quickly in extreme conditions and said the people responsible for making decisions are ultimately trying to protect everyone involved.

His criticism was aimed more broadly at the way modern F1 approaches wet-weather racing.

F1 Has Become More Cautious in Wet Conditions

Hamilton believes wet-weather racing is no longer what it used to be.

He pointed to the late 2000s as a period when teams had more opportunities to test and develop wet-weather tires.

That additional development work helped drivers prepare for difficult conditions and gave teams more options when rain affected a race weekend.

Hamilton also believes there is a generational difference in how drivers approach these situations.

He argued that experienced drivers are often more willing to accept the challenge, while younger drivers tend to be more cautious.

That difference can influence the information given to race officials when decisions have to be made about whether conditions are safe enough for racing.

Hamilton has experienced some of Formula 1’s most demanding wet-weather races during his career.

Hamilton Believes Rain Reveals a Driver’s Instincts

Hamilton does not deny that racing in extreme conditions carries greater risks.

However, he believes those conditions can also reveal qualities that are harder to distinguish on a dry track.

When grip is limited, drivers have to rely heavily on their feel for the car, reactions and instinct.

That creates an environment where small differences in confidence and car control can produce significant performance gains.

Hamilton connected that experience directly to his performance at Sepang.

He particularly enjoyed driving on dry-weather tires while the track remained difficult and unpredictable.

Sepang Took Hamilton Back to His Karting Days

The experience also reminded Hamilton of the beginning of his racing career.

He compared the Sepang challenge with his childhood karting years, when he often had to fight through the field in less competitive machinery.

Hamilton recalled starting races toward the back and finding ways to move forward.

The difficult conditions in Malaysia brought back some of that same feeling.

For the Ferrari driver, the experience was a reminder of why he became passionate about racing in the first place.

Hamilton now turns his attention to a very different challenge in Singapore.

Hamilton Also Wants More Power From Modern F1 Cars

Hamilton also raised concerns about the behavior of current Formula 1 power units.

He pointed to situations where a car can experience a significant loss of power at the end of a straight.

The Ferrari driver believes that is an area that should be addressed in future regulations.

For Hamilton, the objective is not simply to make cars faster. The power delivery should also provide drivers with a more consistent experience during racing.

Singapore Creates Another Challenge for Ferrari

Hamilton now moves from Sepang to Singapore, where Ferrari faces a very different type of challenge.

The event is a Sprint weekend, meaning teams have only one traditional free practice session before competitive sessions begin.

That leaves Ferrari with limited time to find the right balance for its car.

Hamilton believes the team generally starts race weekends well, helped by the work carried out in its simulator program. However, competitors often close the gap as the weekend progresses.

The reduced preparation time in Singapore could therefore make the initial setup particularly important.

Hamilton sees that uncertainty as part of the appeal.

With only one hour of practice available, every team faces the same constraint. Ferrari’s ability to find the right setup quickly could determine how competitive Hamilton and his teammate are throughout the weekend.

Hamilton Still Wants F1 to Embrace the Challenge

Hamilton’s comments reveal a broader view of what he believes makes Formula 1 special.

Modern safety standards remain essential, particularly when visibility and grip deteriorate dramatically.

At the same time, Hamilton believes there should still be opportunities for drivers to demonstrate their skills when conditions become difficult.

His experience at Sepang reminded him of the feeling that first attracted him to racing: the challenge of controlling a car when the conditions are unpredictable and instinct becomes crucial.

Singapore will offer a completely different test, but Hamilton will once again have to extract maximum performance from his Ferrari with very little time available to prepare.