Lando Norris says McLaren are were they deserve to be after qualifying sixth for Chinese Grand Prix

As it stands, McLaren are the third fastest team on the grid behind leaders Mercedes and Ferrari, and while they seemed to challenge the latter on some occasions, the reigning Champions are not consistent in their performances despite having the best power unit in 2026, Mercedes', bolted to the back of their MCL40.

In Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, Norris qualified sixth behind teammate Oscar Piastri, with their deficit to Kimi Antonelli's pole time in the region of half a second.

"There was a little bit more, honestly," Norris admitted after qualifying. "My final sector has been pretty poor, and we have been losing a little bit on the straights to some of the other cars, which we need to understand why.

"A good tenth, tenth and a half, is almost three positions today, so we'll understand that if we can," he added.

The 2025 F1 Champion admitted that he did not deliver the best job in the cockpit as well; he continued: "The last corner here is like my worst corner of the season.

"I can't get it right, and I made quite a big mistake on my final lap there. So, give or take, where we are now is where we deserve to be and where we should be."

Norris, however, is hoping to take the fight to Ferrari during the race on Sunday in Shanghai.

He said: "It looks close to the Ferrari, and we definitely want to get in the fight tomorrow, but it was clear today they definitely have advantages, which we struggle to get on top of.

"It will be hard to challenge them, but you never know, and we'll give it a good shot," Norris concluded. (Source: Sky Sports F1)