Lando Norris endured one of his most difficult qualifying sessions of the season in Baku, with the reigning Formula 1 world champion warning that McLaren’s lack of straight-line speed could make the Azerbaijan Grand Prix an especially difficult race. After qualifying fifth, Lando Norris believes he could become an easy target for the cars behind because of the MCL40’s deficit on the straights.
While Oscar Piastri showed signs of a resurgence, Lando Norris went in the opposite direction during a challenging qualifying session at the Baku City Circuit. The McLaren driver could manage only the fifth-fastest time, finishing 1.1 seconds behind George Russell, who secured pole position.
The result confirmed concerns that had already emerged during practice. The MCL40s had appeared well short of the leading pace, despite McLaren bringing a substantial upgrade package to Baku, and qualifying did little to change that picture.
Lando Norris highlights McLaren’s Baku straight-line deficit
“We didn’t find the pace we were looking for. Yesterday we were 1.3 seconds off, today still eight tenths. Most of the time we’re losing to Mercedes is on the straights, so there’s not much I can do,” Lando Norris explained.
Despite the sizeable gap, Lando Norris said the MCL40 itself had felt relatively comfortable throughout the weekend. His final qualifying attempt, however, was compromised by a mistake as he pushed to extract everything available from the car.
“Honestly, I’ve felt comfortable with the car all weekend. On the final lap I made a mistake and paid the price. But I’ve reached a point in the championship where, in a way, I have to go hunting for pole or die trying.”
According to Lando Norris, McLaren’s data indicates that the car is generally performing as expected. The scale of the deficit nevertheless represents an obvious concern, with the MCL40 losing ground both on the straights and through the slower corners.
“The guys say everything is working as expected, but when you see an eight-tenths gap to the front, it hurts. At the same time, like I said, we’re losing time on the straights. That’s another area we need to analyse. Because in everything related to straight-line speed, we simply seem to be a step behind Mercedes.”
The size of Mercedes’ advantage was already evident in qualifying, when George Russell produced a dominant pole lap. The scale of the gap to the rest of the field was also clear in the Azerbaijan GP qualifying results from Baku.
Lando Norris says his car has more drag than Oscar Piastri’s
Lando Norris also highlighted a more specific concern: his own MCL40 appears to be suffering from a greater straight-line penalty than Oscar Piastri’s sister car.
“It’s been difficult, especially with my car. For some reason my car is even worse than the other one. So it’s making my life really complicated.”
Lando Norris was keen to emphasise the difference in straight-line performance between the two McLarens. Oscar Piastri’s MCL40 appears to be experiencing fewer drag-related problems, forcing Lando Norris to push harder elsewhere on the lap in an attempt to compensate.
“[The qualifying result is down to] several factors. Like I said, for some reason there’s more drag on my car than on the other one. So we need to understand why. Basically, I have to push more than Oscar to try to compensate for our straight-line speed. As for Mercedes, it’s both things. They have a very efficient car.”
“They always have, for years. We need to make a big step in that direction if we want to be competitive at circuits where straight-line speed matters for the rest of the season. But they also have a good car in all the corners. They’re simply doing a better job in every area. Power unit and car.”
The performance in Baku adds another example of the strength of the Mercedes W17 package, particularly at a circuit where aerodynamic efficiency and power-unit performance are heavily rewarded.
A difficult Azerbaijan GP awaits Lando Norris
With the Baku City Circuit placing such a premium on straight-line speed, Lando Norris is concerned that McLaren’s weakness could become even more costly over a race distance, particularly when defending against cars able to close rapidly on the long acceleration zones.
“For tomorrow, I don’t think I have a car that’s good enough. I think I’ll probably be the slowest on the straights and I’ll be an easy target for anyone behind,” Lando Norris concluded.
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