2025 Chinese Grand Prix – McLAREN Sprint Qualifying Report "We were not able to capitalise on the good pace of the car"

Shanghai International Circuit, Friday, 21 March

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella, after Free Practice and Sprint Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.

OP81
FP1 1m32.153s (+0.649s) 24 laps 3rd
SQ1 1m31.723s (Medium)   4th
SQ2 1m31.362s (Medium)   3rd
SQ3 1m30.929s (Soft)   3rd

“Overall, a positive first day on track in China. SQ1 and SQ2 felt good, we just couldn’t get the pace out of the car in SQ3. It's been challenging at times adapting to the track’s new surface, the grip's been a lot better than last season which is nice, but it's very peaky. It was tough to keep on top of the car at times, but the team did a good job of taming it for Sprint Quali. The pace in the car is still very strong and I'm confident I can fight for a higher finish from third in tomorrow’s Sprint.”

LN4
FP1 1m31.504s 23 laps 1st
SQ1 1m31.396s (Medium)   2nd
SQ2 1m31.174s (Medium)   1st
SQ3 1m31.393s (Soft)   6th

“A frustrating Sprint Qualifying. I struggled with the car today at times and the conditions made it challenging. I pushed a bit too hard on my final lap which has put me lower in the order than we wanted. Overall, the car is still in a good window so there's a lot we can take from today’s sessions. We’ll now focus on working hard overnight as a team to get ready to go again tomorrow and score strong points.”

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Represent the team!

Andrea Stella

“Our first day back here in China ends with a somewhat disappointing result in Sprint Qualifying. During Free Practice we managed to work through our run plan well, completing a lot of important items as we head into this Sprint weekend. However, we struggled to put perfect laps together in SQ3 today, and thus we were not able to capitalise on the good pace of the car. This serves as a reminder of the competitive nature of this field, where not fully extracting performance can cost us several grid positions.

“We now have the chance to use the information available to maximise the pace in the car, ensuring we are prepared starting from the Sprint tomorrow.”