Lando Norris laments "terrible" Friday at F1 Japanese GP after reliability woe strikes

Lando Norris was left frustrated by a “terrible” Friday at the Japanese Grand Prix, with reliability issues limiting his running in both free practice sessions.

McLaren appears to have unlocked some pace in the MCL40, with Oscar Piastri topping FP2, and Norris setting the fourth fastest time – the duo sandwiching Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

But Norris’ day was beset by problems, most notably a hydraulic leak in FP2, which confined him to the garage for more than 20 minutes at the start of the session.

“Even FP1, a lot of my running was just aero running,” said Norris. “So even the few laps I did get was not representative for me.

“I, of course, have data to look at, but around a track like this, you just want laps. I don’t care what data I can look at, you just want laps under your belt to give you good confidence and good knowledge, which I got some of at the end, but I’m just two or three steps behind at the minute with setup, with no long running.

“A pretty terrible start to the weekend, but we’ve got overnight to reset and fix some things.”

Asked if the pace when he did take to the track was a positive, Norris added: “The pace is there for Oscar, not for me at the minute.

“Just a pretty bad day from our side, just not a lot of laps. Not the way you want things to go at the minute, especially if you’re just learning with what laps you can do, and I’m lacking a lot of laps.”

McLaren cautious of Ferrari threat

McLaren has so far endured a rocky start to the season, with the double did-not-start from China, an unquestionable low point.

But pace has been evident in flashes, with Piastri having previously topped the time sheets in FP2 of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix weekend.

On that occasion, Saturday saw a downturn for the team, with Piastri and Norris qualifying fifth and sixth, behind both the Mercedes drivers, Charles Leclerc and Isack Hadjar.

“Oscar finished P1, which I think is always nice to see, but similar to pace in Australia on Friday, and I think the pecking order generally looks pretty much the same in broad terms,” assessed McLaren racing director, Randy Singh.

Of the reduced energy harvesting, a late change made by the FIA, he added: “It’s hard for everyone involved, and I think it was good that the FIA, power unit manufacturers and F1 got together and came up with that change. I think the lower harvesting works better for this circuit.”