Did three poles in the last four races set realistic expectations? McLaren’s qualifying in Azerbaijan fell flat, exposing weekend woes.
Lando Norris called the MCL40 “miles off” after Thursday practice, where he was 1.5 seconds slower – a gap that largely reflected a aborted faster lap.
Oscar Piastri trimmed the deficit to eight‑tenths in FP3 and rode that rhythm to third on the grid. Norris, another three‑tenths back, slipped to fifth after a Q3 lock‑up and a top‑speed glitch.
Baku saw McLaren install a major upgrade: reshaped sidepods, a new engine cover, revised floor, diffuser, rear suspension and rear wing. Did the parts deliver as intended?
“Thinking back to qualifying, the crew says everything’s working, yet seeing eight‑tenths off the leader hurts,” Norris admitted, adding, “Our losses are mainly on the straights.”
Team principal Andrea Stella noted the updates are positive, but admitted they weren’t expected to match the dramatic Hungary boost that turned the team’s fortunes around.
“The upgrades worked, but in my view they didn’t deliver the leap seen in Hungary,” Stella said. “Side‑pod shaping and a new floor were noticeable, yet the overall performance gain was modest.”
Andrea Stella, McLaren
“We’re pleased with the data and the performance impact we’ve measured so far,” Stella commented.
“On a circuit like Azerbaijan, we expected challenges. Our straight‑line speed isn’t a strong suit, and the lack of medium‑ or high‑speed corners doesn’t help.”
“Thus we’re constantly battling in a regime where the car can’t show its best traits, and the upgrades only added a modest aerodynamic load across conditions.”
McLaren even painted Norris’s rear‑left corner with flow‑visualisation fluid right up to the end of FP3, a late‑stage move that lets engineers see real‑time airflow instead of relying on wind‑tunnel models.
“We kept testing various solutions in FP1 and FP2, converged on a final concept in FP3, and applied the flow‑vis to both cars for a last check,” Stella explained. “I’m happy to report the results matched expectations.”
Photos from F1 Azerbaijan GP – Saturday
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– The Team