McLaren showed strong pace at the Lusail International Circuit, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualifying first and third for the Sprint.

Both drivers then continued to shine during the shorter race, with Piastri leading the team’s 1-2 finish, after Norris let him pass on the last lap.

Despite this success, McLaren couldn’t replicate the performance from the sprint shootout in the main Grand Prix qualifying as Norris and Piastri managed to secure only the second row of the grid.

Both drivers were outpaced by Max Verstappen, who claimed pole, and George Russell, with Norris, who finished ahead of Piastri, being two-tenths slower than Verstappen.

After the session, McLaren boss Andrea Stella explained that stronger winds during the qualifying made the MCL38 harder to handle. This caused both drivers to struggle with the car’s stability, affecting their lap times.

“It was a more complicated session for us in terms of qualifying pace compared to yesterday,” he addressed.

“Today the conditions were slightly different.

“It may look [like] small things.

“It is still windy and gusty compared to how it was yesterday in the Sprint quali [when the wind dropped]. This meant that our car was more difficult to drive than yesterday.

“Yesterday, as soon as the wind calmed down, the car became very predictable and our drivers could really attack.

“Today I have to say it was more about almost defending and trying to be cautious because any time we were attacking for ultimate pace, we were having problems.”

He added: “Lando and Oscar have done a good job in securing a P3, P4,” Stella praised his drivers.

“At some stage in Q3 it was like P7, P10. We got a little nervous, but they stayed calm and they delivered when it counted.”

Stella said he wasn’t surprised that McLaren wasn’t the fastest, even though the high-speed track seemed perfect for their car.

“Russell, he was on course for pole position already yesterday, so it’s not a surprise.

“The other car ahead of us is Max Verstappen, and I think I said it all, when it’s Max you can never discount him.

“So it’s a good result, a good starting position for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be very much about race pace and that’s where we have to be good.

“The sprint has been promising, but even the sprint has been quite compact [in terms of gaps between cars]. So I think once again for the spectators and the F1 fans, it’s going to be an entertaining evening.”