Mclaren loses spot after Norris woes
Despite the lack of practice time available after Friday’s washout, Mclaren decided to equip both cars with its new aerodynamic upgrades to press on with its development.
Lando Norris, running fewer new-spec parts than team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr, was able to make good progress in the race’s early stages and fought with
Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez – which became the battle for third after Valtteri Bottas’s retirement.
Norris then began to report issues with his power unit, which was new for this race. First, he struggled with energy deployment while trying to keep Perez at bay, and then began to lose progressively more from the engine, which helped Perez pass at the chicane after the two had pitted.
Norris continued to drop back, relinquishing fifth to Sainz but hanging on until his car gave up just before threequarters distance, forcing him to pull over at Turn 6. His Mclaren proved difficult to clear, which meant the safety car was called out.
After overcoming Charles Leclerc following their stops, Sainz was momentarily close to Perez, but didn’t have an answer to the Racing Point’s pace and he came home fifth. Mclaren dropped a place in the constructors’table down to fourth as Racing Point moved into third.