Norris Disheartened by McLaren's Struggles on Day One in Baku
Lando Norris expressed disappointment after McLaren's underwhelming performance during practice sessions at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Both he and teammate Oscar Piastri faced setbacks, leaving them significantly off the pace.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend began on a sour note for McLaren, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri found themselves trailing significantly during Thursday's practice sessions. The duo ended the day roughly 1.5 seconds adrift of the front-runners, with Norris offering a colorful description of their performance as "a little knife in the heart."
The team's struggles stemmed from complications with the floorboards of their upgraded MCL40, which necessitated some quick fixes during the first practice. Norris and Piastri were left watching the mechanics scramble to resolve the issues, resulting in lost track time. By the time they returned for the second session, cable ties were holding things together, quite literally.
Despite these challenges, both drivers managed to log additional laps, yet they were far behind pace-setter George Russell. Reflecting on the day's events, Norris was candid: "We’re miles off. We're in the position we expected, but still 1.5 seconds off, which isn't where we want to be."
When probed about the potential for overnight improvement, Norris was non-committal: "I have no idea. The car didn't feel bad, but seeing how far off we are is disheartening." For Norris, confidence in the car took a backseat to sheer speed, which was sorely lacking. "I just want it to be quick, and it’s not very quick at the minute," he lamented.
Rob Marshall, McLaren's Chief Technical Officer and Chief Designer, also weighed in on the day's setbacks. He detailed the updates made to various parts of the car, including the sidepods, engine cover, and rear suspension. "We put a lot of new bits on the car today," Marshall explained, noting that while the updates showed potential, the team was still in the early stages of optimizing performance.
Marshall attributed some of the day's issues to the nature of racing with prototypes, where unexpected problems can arise. He noted that they spotted a crack in a component, and the makeshift cable tie solution was a temporary measure to prevent further damage. "We could have left it, but we didn’t want to risk being short on parts," Marshall added.
Overall, McLaren's first day in Baku was more of a learning exercise than a demonstration of pace. As the team works overnight to address these issues, they'll be hoping for a more promising performance in the coming sessions.