MOTOR RACING: Milestone weekend begins badly for McLaren

McLaren's cars looked the part in their special orange livery to mark their 1,000th Grand Prix but they were way off the pace in practice for the Monaco Grand Prix on Friday.

Formula One world champion and winner last year Lando Norris was sixth fastest in the opening session and managed only eight laps in the second before his car broke down with an apparent electrical fault and had to be unceremoniously wheeled off the track on a trolley by marshals.

Australian team mate Oscar Piastri was eighth fastest in the first session and improved only one place later on a disappointing day for the team ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

"Tricky day, we're clearly off the pace and need to find time across the lap," Britain's Norris said.

"Frustrating to lose track time today as that's always important in Monaco. The car simply turned off so we need to investigate."

Piastri described it as a tough day for the team while McLaren's Chief Technical Officer Rob Marshall admitted the car was struggling for pace.

"We have a few things to look at, whether it's tyre related, temperature or set-up, to unlock some more performance," Marshall said.

"Lando's session was unfortunately cut short by an electrical fault which caused the car to shut down. The team is working hard to diagnose the root cause so we can ensure it doesn't happen again to make sure that the focus is on optimising everything for qualifying."

McLaren have joined Ferrari as one of only two teams to reach 1,000 Grands Prix.

-Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon/Reuters