Lando Norris acknowledges McLaren's decline

Lando Norris, who finished fourth in the Singapore Grand Prix, admitted that McLaren has fallen behind its main competitors. He expressed concern about the team's reduced competitiveness, stating that he believes McLaren is now the fourth fastest team on the grid.

McLaren's competitiveness concerns

Norris emphasized that without new developments, McLaren may struggle to stay in the top four. He noted that the MCL40 no longer has the speed needed to regularly challenge Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull. He added that although the gap between the top teams has narrowed, McLaren remains the slowest of the four major teams and must continue developing the car.

Red Bull's growing threat

Red Bull has significantly closed the gap in the constructors' championship, now only seven points behind McLaren. This is due in part to Max Verstappen's strong performances in the last two races and the Singapore Sprint. Norris said that containing Red Bull's resurgence is now a top priority for McLaren.

Race incident affects podium chances

During the race, Norris had a chance to secure a podium finish when Lewis Hamilton's tires began to fail in the final laps. However, a duel with the Ferrari driver allowed Kimi Antonelli to overtake both British drivers after they went off track at the first corner. By the time Norris took the lead over Hamilton, the Mercedes driver already had a 3.2-second advantage.

Regret over race strategy

Norris expressed regret over his duel with Hamilton, noting that he could have better managed the situation to offer more resistance to Antonelli. He admitted that a more effective handling of the overtake attempt would have allowed him to defend his position better, though he believes Antonelli would have overtaken him regardless.

McLaren's current challenges

Norris finished nearly 16 seconds behind Antonelli, confirming the current limitations of the MCL40 against the best cars. He admitted that fourth place was likely the best result they could achieve in the race, revealing the ongoing difficulties faced by McLaren.