Lando Norris Voices Concerns Over McLaren’s Pace at Azerbaijan GP: Struggles and Team Dynamics Explored

Lando Norris asserts he's far from his goal, stating, "I'm exerting excessive effort just to secure a decent lap time."

Lando Norris feels that McLaren is significantly behind in speed after a challenging practice session on Friday at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Norris ended up significantly lower in the rankings after his fastest lap was hindered by Alpine's Pierre Gasly.

Norris finished in 17th place overall, whereas his McLaren counterpart, Oscar Piastri, recorded the fifth quickest time.

Nevertheless, Piastri trailed behind Charles Leclerc by approximately half a second at the forefront of the rankings.

Commenting on the Gasly situation, Norris remarked, "No, likely not his mistake. It's simply that in this place, you delay applying the power until the last moment.

"He evidently miscalculated the situation. It was irrelevant anyway, as I had already completed my lap. From that point, it was simply a straight path."

The full speed of the McLaren remains to be seen, as Norris was hindered.

It seems that Red Bull, McLaren's primary rivals, have regained their competitive edge.

With Sergio Perez behind the wheel, Red Bull just missed out on the leading position, with a mere 0.006 seconds separating the Mexican driver from Leclerc.

Evaluating McLaren's speed, Norris remarked, "We're significantly behind. I find myself having to exert excessive effort to achieve a decent lap time. I believe Oscar's position more accurately reflects our current standing."

"Therefore, I believe that if we get it right, we're almost at our goal, though I'm convinced they're far from achieving it at this point. In my opinion, we still have a significant amount to discover, truly."

Norris is of the opinion that Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull share a comparable speed, positioning McLaren as the team ranking fourth in performance on Friday in Baku.

"He elaborated that Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull are closely matched in performance. However, there's a noticeable gap of about three to four tenths of a second to their team, indicating they have significant improvements to make. Specifically, Ferrari has shown impressive speed at this location."

"Mercedes is expected to be fast under these circuit conditions. The track is quite slippery. Our team excels on circuits with better grip. It's challenging, but we're committed to putting in the effort tonight."

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