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.
We had identified an issue on Lando’s car which we are still working to rectify. #McLarenF1 | #ChineseGP 🇨🇳
— McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team (@McLarenF1) March 15, 2026
“We had identified an issue on Lando’s car which we are still working to rectify,” McLaren said on social media.
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.
Elsewhere, Alexander Albon has already been confirmed to start from the pit lane for Williams for the race in Shanghai.
The Chinese Grand Prix is scheduled to get underway at 6pm AEDT.
