McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during the qualifying session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang. (AFP pic)

SEPANG: World champion Lando Norris found himself wrestling with an uncooperative McLaren in Saturday's qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, attributing his team's struggles to the circuit's unique surface.

Norris qualified sixth-fastest, sixth tenths of a second slower than pole sitter Max Verstappen, but will start fifth after Red Bull's Isack Hadjar received a grid penalty that drops him from third to eighth.

The McLaren driver, who is fourth in the championship, did not mince words about his car's performance on the Sepang tarmac.

"We are just slow. The car's not good enough here," Norris told reporters.