Baku: In the context of their battle for the Formula 1 World Championship, Lando Norris needed a weekend in which his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri faltered. He got one, but managed to pull back only six points on the Australian with a seventh-place finish in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, a long way behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who took his second dominant victory in a row.
According to BBC, questions surrounded Norris over missed opportunities during the race weekend in Baku. Norris denied these claims, attributing his performance to challenging circumstances. Piastri's crash resulted in a ninth-place grid position, giving Norris a chance to qualify well, yet he only managed seventh. Norris attributed his position to his decision to go out first in the final minutes of qualifying, which resulted in less favorable conditions compared to drivers who followed.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella supported Norris's decision to run first, highlighting that the timing was not the issue. Stella pointed out that the car's potential was not fully realized due to a misjudgement by Norris, who hit the wall during qualifying.
Despite the setbacks, Norris felt he maximized his performance given the conditions. Stella agreed that Norris's race went as well as possible under the circumstances, noting that no other driver in Norris's car could have scored more points.
Piastri's weekend was marked by numerous errors. Stella described it as "uncharacteristic" for the Australian driver. Piastri, who has been consistent this season, faced multiple challenges, including practice session errors and a crash during qualifying. He also made a false start, which led to him falling behind early in the race.
Piastri acknowledged the mistakes but insisted they were not due to pressure from the title battle. He expressed a focus on moving past this weekend's errors and emphasized that his pace was still competitive despite the execution errors.
The performance of McLaren's cars was questioned, with Norris noting the difficulty in driving and lack of confidence in the car's handling. Stella mentioned that Baku was expected to be a challenging track for McLaren due to the car's strengths and weaknesses, particularly in straight-line braking and low-downforce setups.
Meanwhile, Verstappen showcased a stark contrast with an error-free performance, securing pole position, the win, and the fastest lap. Despite being 69 points behind Piastri in the championship, Stella highlighted Verstappen as a contender, pointing to improvements in the Red Bull car and upcoming tracks that may favor their performance.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc noted that while Red Bull has improved, the competition remains close between McLaren and Red Bull, with Verstappen currently executing better performances. The next event in Singapore is anticipated to be more favorable for McLaren, as they aim to return to fighting for victories.