World champion Lando Norris fears his McLaren will struggle on Malaysia's track after a challenging qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.Norris qualified sixth fastest and was sixth tenths of a second slower than pole sitter Max Verstappen in Sepang, which is hosting an F1 race after nine years.However, Norris will start fifth after Red Bull's Isack Hadjar received a grid penalty that drops him from third to eighth.The McLaren driver, who is fourth in the championship, was not pleased with his car's performance on the Sepang tarmac.“We are just slow. The car's not good enough here,” Norris said.“This tarmac is very different to a lot of other tracks we have been to this year and therefore I think you see Mercedes struggle a lot more today especially, you see Red Bull quicker than they usually are.“So I think the order has shaken up a little bit and I think we struggle a little bit more than what we were expecting because of the surface.”Fabulous final lap from Lewis, and a fantastic reaction 🥳#F1 #BahrainGP @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/dv4i78xNrU— Formula 1 (@F1) October 3, 2026Meanwhile, Verstappen claimed his first pole position of the season.Verstappen clocked one minute and 35.130 seconds to edge out Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who snatched second place in the dying moments of qualifying despite struggling with tyre degradation in the brutal Malaysian heat.Verst...
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