Lando Norris says “the tables have turned” on McLaren after he only qualified fifth for the Singapore Grand Prix and faces losing ground to championship leader Oscar Piastri in the title race.

McLaren were expected to be the team to beat in Singapore but Mercedes’ George Russell took pole position from Max Verstappen with Piastri in third but over three tenths off the pace.

Both drivers were unhappy with understeer and Norris in particular faces a huge challenge to fight for the win, given the difficulties of overtaking, so will rely on some fortune when the lights go out at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, live on Sky Sports F1 at 1pm (build-up from 11.30am).

“Just missing my driving. I just didn’t put it all together. You’re talking small margins and clearly as a team the car’s not in the right place, we’re just not quick enough, especially to do a 29.1 – that’s out of our league at the minute,” said Norris, who is 25 points behind Piastri in the Drivers’ Championship.

“Just as we were out of some others’ leagues last year and at times this year, the tables have turned. I think also everyone seems to be struggling a lot with the front tyres this weekend. We know that’s a weakness of our car at times. It’s also my worst nightmare, understeer.”

Qualifying was one of Norris’ strengths last year but he’s rarely had a car balance to his liking over one lap and trails Piastri 10-8 in the head-to-head.

Norris was less than one tenth away from being third, rather than fifth, and thinks the front end of the McLaren is a weakness.

“I’m sure in Singapore every driver will say a little bit more. It’s never easy to push it to the limits here. I had a small wall hit out of the last chicane,” he said.

“It cost me six hundredths or something to get two positions higher, maybe. Do I think there was a tenth in it? For sure. But if I could do it easily or if I knew why, I probably would have done it.

“I feel where there’s more lap time out of it. On the medium tyres this weekend, I’ve always felt very comfortable. The mediums have often had more front end, which just suits me.

“I can get more lap time out of it. It feels more reminiscent of last year, the feelings I want from the car. I put the soft on and I struggle again.

“Still lingering feelings of the car just not performing – I can’t say in the right way because we’ve been very quick all season. Those issues and the issues I’ve had this year, which is the front of the car, seem to have arose again this weekend.”

Norris: Red Bull have been strong all year

McLaren have the opportunity to match Red Bull’s record from 2023 of sealing the Constructors’ Championship with six rounds to go – the earliest the title has been won – if they score 13 points or more on Sunday, regardless of what Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull do.

They dominated some of the races earlier this year, although Verstappen is the driver with momentum having won the last two rounds in Baku and Monza.

Norris was keen to stress Red Bull have been “very strong for most of the year” so is not surprised Verstappen qualified on the front row despite the thinking being the RB21 would not suit the tight confines of Singapore.

“They’ve improved in a lot of places this season. They’ve improved into Monza with some of those upgrades. They’ve not been bad this year,” Norris explained.

“People keep talking so much downly about Red Bull. There’s been a few tougher races for them, but they’re also Red Bull. As soon as they’ve improved that little area, they’re quick.

“So it’s not a surprise. It’s not a shock to anyone. It’s not a shock to us. I expect them to be probably on pole today, honestly, from their pace yesterday. But I also expect it from where they were last year. They were fighting for pole, and if it wasn’t for me, he would have won the race.

“So, you can’t say that they were struggling. They were just not quite as quick as us, and now they’re quicker.”

Russell: I’ll be keeping an eye on Verstappen!

For the second time this year, Russell and Verstappen start on the front row together. The pair have a history of clashing on and off the track, so there could be more fireworks on Sunday at the start.

“Singapore has not been the kindest to me in the past, and that’s been through my own doing the majority of the time,” said Russell

“So I’m not going to get carried away with this pole position. Of course, it’s the best place to start.

“There’s a good pole-side advantage here, so I’d like to think I can hold the lead into Turn 1, but obviously, this guy on my left [Verstappen] is pretty good at race starts and sending it down the inside. So I’ll be keeping an eye.”

As for Verstappen, the Dutchman stated he was “not really too bothered” and will “wait and see” about the start.

McLaren have had the best race pace this year but the hot temperatures and their general Singapore struggles could mean it’s a Verstappen versus Russell fight for the win.

An expected one-stop race also lessens the opportunities but Piastri is hoping he has the car to fight for a victory that would extend his championship lead.

“It’s very tough to overtake around here. You need a fair bit of extra pace to get past someone,” said Piastri.

“I think tomorrow’s race is just all about trying to do the best I can. There’s a lot of things that can happen around here. It’s a tough race – Safety Cars and stuff like that. So, I’ll do the best that I can.

“Obviously, if there’s an opportunity to finish higher than I’m starting, then I’ll try and take it. I’m not just going to settle for the position I’m in or any position just ahead of Lando.

“I want to maximise the race I can get because any extra points I can win is only going to help me. So, just try and do the best job I can and see where we end up.”

Sky Sports F1’s Singapore GP schedule

Sunday October 5
8.20am: F1 Academy Race 2
11.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Singapore GP build-up
1pm: THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted’s Notebook

The 2025 Formula 1 title fight continues under the lights at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime