McLaren struggles in Baku GP 2025 qualifying: Piastri disappointed, Norris unfazed
McLaren didn’t perform worse than Ferrari, but they came close. In round 17 of the 2025 F1 season, the two MCL39 cars failed to find the right setup. The weekend started with minor difficulties that were mostly resolved before qualifying. Despite this, at the crucial moment, McLaren drivers made two unforgivable errors, leaving them in eighth and ninth positions. A disastrous result, although tomorrow promises a very different story.
Two mistakes, but one more severe
Charles Leclerc got stuck in Q3, losing grip and crashing into the barriers. His accident brought a sudden halt to the session with a red flag, shocking his fans who had hoped for a magical performance in an already unpredictable qualifying session. After the stewards cleared his car and the debris, the session resumed.
Hardly had drivers resumed when Oscar Piastri suffered a similar fate. The Australian had started his lap strongly, but at the braking zone of turn three, the MCL39’s front end failed to respond. He went wide, and the impact with the barriers was unavoidable. The front axle had cooled too much, reducing grip, and the track conditions were far from optimal.
His crash caused a second red flag, forcing the stewards to intervene again to restore safe conditions before the remaining cars could continue. Lando Norris now had a prime opportunity. The light rain had disappeared, and with Soft tyres, as Max Verstappen had demonstrated on the lap stopped by Oscar, the chance to improve was clear.
Norris pushes hard but falls short
The British McLaren driver set out for his lap after the green flag. Highly motivated, he had a clear chance to start ahead of his teammate, the current Drivers’ Championship leader. Lando drove aggressively, brushing several walls, until in sector three, turn 15 precisely, he made light contact with the barriers using his front right tyre. He completed the lap, but his time was not as competitive as it needed to be.
Piastri ready to bounce back
In his post-qualifying statements, Oscar Piastri fully took responsibility for his fatal mistake. He admitted braking too late, although he had not yet reviewed the telemetry data with the team at that section of the track. Despite this, he was honest and found no excuses, noting that when front brakes lock, it usually means the cornering speed was too high.
Oscar Piastri expressed deep disappointment with the result, as his objective had been very different. He described his first two corners as perfect, but then, whether due to rain or overzealousness, the fatal error occurred. A personal mea culpa, but it did not change the outcome. Looking to the race, he tempered expectations, knowing that victory would be extremely difficult.
This takes into account the competitiveness of Verstappen’s Red Bull and his grid advantage. Nonetheless, Oscar Piastri remains determined to recover, confident in the speed of his MCL39 at Baku. However, the real loser of the day appears to be Lando Norris. He had a clear chance to take pole and be a favorite for tomorrow’s race. Instead, that opportunity slipped away.
Norris avoids self-blame
The English driver didn’t feel as disappointed as his teammate and regarded his contact with the barriers in sector three as a minor error, especially considering the track’s difficulty. Yet, this error significantly slowed his lap and deprived him of the chance to clearly outpace his teammate, who is also his rival in the championship and currently 31 points ahead. His attitude is difficult to understand; a true champion would likely feel more frustrated.
Norris himself admitted that attempting to win might have been unrealistic and agreed with Oscar Piastri that overtaking is far from easy on the Baku circuit, despite several high-speed sections. This is why a clean lap in Q3 could have given him a substantial advantage to recover points on the championship leader. Tomorrow is another day, but for now, Lando has once again wasted a golden opportunity.
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