Norris reveals engine issue that caused bizarre FP1 spin

Lando Norris has revealed an engine issue was the cause of his bizarre spin at the end of first practice for the Russian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver was re-entering the pits after the chequered flag in Sochi when he lost the back end and damaged his front wing on the inside wall.

Asked about his morning spin, Norris explained: "I can actually say it wasn't my fault.

"It was an issue with the engine. It wasn't my fault, not an embarrassing spin but not ideal and I obviously damaged the front wing which is not what we wanted at the end of the session or at all.

"I think the whole day was a bit up and down. We struggled quite a bit in Q1 but we made a few changes to the car for second practice and definitely improved it quite a bit so left with a more positive feeling going into tomorrow and Sunday."

McLaren "not as competitive as Monza"

McLaren enters the weekend off the back of finishing one-two in Italy but has not been able to show the same competitiveness so far in Sochi.

Norris, who at least found pace in the second session to finish fourth fastest, is adamant that does not mean he is struggling with the car this weekend.

"You can feel good but not be as quick sometimes just because some of our strengths we had in Monza aren't shown here and there are more of our weaker corners where we are just not as strong," added the Briton.

"Still I feel relatively good but it just doesn't always translate to an actual lap time. I wouldn't say we are as competitive as in Monza, that's for sure.

"But still a decent feeling and we can still be competitive compared to Ferrari and AlphaTauri and the people we are really racing against."

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