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.
"This tarmac is very different to a lot of other tracks we have been to this year, and therefore I think you see Mercedes struggle a lot more today, especially; you see Red Bull quicker than they usually are.
"So I think the order has shaken up a little bit and I think we struggle a little bit more than what we were expecting because of the surface."
Norris said he was pleased with his final qualifying lap and felt he had extracted the maximum from the car.
"However, it's clear we are a long way off the pace. My car is struggling with speed on the straights, and we've lacked general pace all weekend," he added.
"So starting fifth is not a surprise. We don't expect any miracles, and it's obvious the Red Bulls are in a class of their own here."
His teammate Oscar Piastri was seventh fastest but will line up alongside Norris on the third row due to Hadjar's penalty.
"Not quite the session we wanted. We're struggling a bit for pace here. But overall I was reasonably happy with things," Piastri said.
"An extra tenth (of a second) would have been good... We were just not quite quick enough here unfortunately. It's going to be a race where we can do a lot with strategy - and then hopefully pace."