The race in Baku did not go as planned for McLaren. Oscar Piastri had a rare off-day and dropped out, while Lando Norris could not get further than P7 after being stuck in traffic for a long race. Team boss Andrea Stella speaks of a “difficult weekend” in which the British racing team never really found its rhythm.
“It was a tough day, a tough weekend,” Stella reflects to F1TV. “Yesterday was already not the result we were aiming for, and today we basically stayed at the same level. We had problems with Oscar, which are quite unusual. But he is strong, he will learn from this and come back stronger.” Piastri ended up in the wall early in the race – a mistake that Stella does not consider indicative of his season. “I have worked with multiple champions and these kinds of weekends sometimes happen. So far, Oscar has been one of the most solid drivers in 2025. This was just a one-time mistake.”
Lando Norris also did not perform as expected in Azerbaijan. “We simply did not have the speed to overtake,” Stella explains. “As a result, Lando was stuck in traffic for the entire race. And the slow pit stop certainly did not help. We stayed out as long as possible hoping for a safety car, but in the end, we finished where we should be considering our weekend. We should have performed better in the qualification.” Yet, Stella remains positive about the future. “We seem to have lost the advantage here that we do have on other circuits. But we will come back stronger in Singapore.”
