McLaren head into the Singapore Grand Prix in a difficult position after a troubled stretch of races. Team principal Andrea Stella acknowledged the MCL40 lost performance following recent development work, and the team took the blame for a recurring problem affecting Lando Norris.

Norris called out a straight-line speed deficit as seriously damaging and said he was not confident the team could fix it before Marina Bay.

A tyre strategy call during the Malaysian Grand Prix, which saw Oscar Piastri pitted under disputed circumstances, was later called out as an error in judgement. Singapore's narrow, technical layout is considered a poor fit for the MCL40, heaping more stress on McLaren heading into the race weekend.