The race weekend in Azerbaijan is one to quickly forget for the McLaren team. While World Championship leader Oscar Piastri met his downfall early in the unforgiving walls of the Baku Street Circuit, Lando Norris had to settle for seventh place. The once invincible McLaren could not stand up to rivals Red Bull and Mercedes. Norris explains that his car is less solid than previously thought.
Lando Norris stated after the race that he was not surprised that Piastri ended up in the wall. “I think the mistakes that Oscar (Piastri, ed.) and I made prove that it’s still not an easy car to drive,” Norris told Sky Sports. “Sometimes it’s incredibly fast, but in places like this, it can still trip you up if you make one mistake.” A striking statement from Norris, who throughout the year often had the advantage of a very complete vehicle.
Title Battle
Oscar Piastri, who saw Norris further close in on the drivers’ championship, particularly regretted the ‘stupid mistakes’ he made himself. “It was definitely a messy weekend,” said the Australian. “That being said, I would be more worried if it was a lack of speed that caused me to make these kinds of blunders. They are just simple judgment errors. That is of course unnecessary, also considering the mechanics, who have already had a tough weekend.””
Thanks to Norris’ seventh place, the difference between the two McLaren drivers is only 25 World Championship points. In the event of another dropout and a victory for Norris, they would thus be on equal footing. “I’m not too worried about that,” Piastri assured. “I think I’m just focusing on myself and what I can do to improve. There’s a long way to go, whether you’re having good or bad weekends. The championship is far from over, so that’s what I’m focusing on.”
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