Neither McLaren driver made the start of Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri stricken with technical problems before the race.

McLaren was frantically working on Norris’s car around an hour before the start of the race, saying: “We had identified an issue on the electronics side, which is why we had removed the floor and checked a number of parts. 

“We believe we have rectified the issue and the team are now in final preparations for the race.”

But Norris didn’t complete his reconnaissance laps to the grid as his McLaren team continued to work on his car in the garage. 

Team-mate Piastri did - but then he encountered problems of his own and was pushed back into the McLaren garage before the start of the formation lap. 

McLaren said just before the formation lap: ”We also identified an issue on Oscar's car, which means we were unable to start the car from the grid. 

“We have now returned the car to the garage to further investigate the issue there.” 

That left grid spots five and six empty as the race started. 

Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi also encountered issues before the race as a technical problem ruled him out of the race before it even began. That left grid spot 16 empty. 

Williams driver Alex Albon was set to start from the pitlane but didn’t make the start either, leaving 18 of the 22 cars on the grid.