McLaren issues revealed after miserable Austrian Grand Prix practice

Lando Norris, Red Bull ring, 2022 — Photo: © LAT Images

Austrian Grand Prix

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McLaren issues revealed after practice misery

Can the team bounce back for qualifying?

Ewan Gale

Friday 8 July 2022 15:45

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McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has revealed the issues experienced by Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo during a miserable practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Norris had complained about his MCL36 switching into 'limp-home mode' on his first lap out of the garage at the Red Bull ring, albeit 22 minutes into the session.

The British driver was forced to stop on the entry to turn six after reporting smoke from the cockpit.

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Australian Ricciardo, meanwhile, experienced DRS issues, with the open component of the wing oscillating violently in high winds at the Spielberg venue.

"It was not a good session from us," conceded Seidl, speaking to Sky Sports F1.

"On Lando's side, we could see a loss of power.

"On Daniel's side, he had an issue with the DRS which we are investigating. There is not a lot of time to fix but we will work hard in both garages to get ready for quali."

Seidl braced for sprint pain

The timing of the forgettable session could not have been worse for McLaren, with qualifying following in the afternoon due to the revised schedule of an F1 sprint weekend.

The team failed to complete a soft-tyre run during the hour but asked if the drivers were happy with the base balance of the car from their limited running, Seidl replied: "Too early to say.

"We didn't get a lot of running, didn't do the running that we wanted and didn't get through the programme as planned.

"So not ideal, especially on a sprint weekend but that is the challenge we are in now."