Norris delivers first verdict on sizeable McLaren Singapore upgrades

Lando Norris has praised the latest updates from McLaren after practice for the Singapore Grand Prix as "doing what they're meant to."

McLaren has brought nine performance upgrades to the MCL60 for the Marina Bay race with the front and rear-wings, sidepods, engine cover and rear suspension all receiving updates, with Norris enjoying the full package with Oscar Piastri set to receive it in Japan next time out.

He was fourth quickest in FP1 and sixth fastest in FP2, behind the Ferrari and Mercedes cars as well as Fernando Alonso, but ahead of both Red Bulls.

The pace deficit was clear against teammate Oscar Piastri, who struggled to finish inside the top ten and was 19th in FP1, some 1.9s behind his team-mate on his first visit to Singapore.

Norris's upgrade verdict

"We've definitely taken some steps forward with the new bits, they're doing what they're meant to do which is always a good thing," Norris told F1TV.

"[There were] a couple of mistakes maybe which cost me a lot of time but [there are] plenty of things for us to to improve."

Ferrari unexpectedly set the pace on Friday topping both sessions, with Norris believing Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz would be out of reach, but remained positive of slotting in behind.

"I think we're way too far from from Ferrari's. They're extremely good in the slow speed [corners] and pretty much all you have [here] is slow speed," said Norris.

"We're not far behind. I think if we put it in a mega lap we can get close, but we're in the fight with Mercedes, Aston Martin and Red Bull."