Norris emerged from the cockpit of his MCL40 in the team’s garage as the rest of the field headed out to line up on the grid for the race at Shanghai International Circuit.
The Briton had originally qualified sixth for the race but now appears set to start from the pit lane while the team works to resolve the problem.
“Unfortunately we identified separate issues on both cars which prevented them from starting the Chinese GP, with Oscar’s being removed from the grid shortly before the formation lap,” McLaren wrote on social media.
“We will now work to identify each issue.”
It marks another disrupted pre-race for the team just a week after Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri crashed on the way to the grid at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Norris was one of four drivers who failed to start the 56-lapper.
Elsewhere, Alexander Albon has already been confirmed to start from the pit lane for Williams for the race in Shanghai, though he failed to start.
Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto was also pulled from the grid and failed to start.
Red Bull suffered a scare on the way to the grid when it discovered the low downforce mode on Max Verstappen’s rear wing had failed, forcing the team to replace it at the last minute.
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