Norris says Baku podium “impossible” as McLaren straight-line weakness bites

Lando Norris accepted responsibility for the mistake that left him fifth but insisted his McLaren lacks the straight-line speed required to fight through the field

News Summary

Lando Norris qualified fifth and finished 1.146s behind George Russell
The McLaren driver said he would rather “die trying” for pole than settle for a safe lap
Norris believes his lack of straight-line speed makes a Baku podium impossible

Lando Norris believes challenging for an Azerbaijan GP podium will be “impossible” after qualifying fifth with a significant straight-line speed disadvantage.

The McLaren driver finished 1.146s behind pole-sitter George Russell and two places behind team-mate Oscar Piastri. Norris felt second place was available but locked up at Turn 3 after pushing the braking point too far on his decisive lap.

“It was working well, to be honest,” Norris told Sky Sports F1. “Oscar’s P3. I think a P2 was possible. I felt confident in the car. I just pushed the braking a bit too much.

“I’d rather die trying to get a pole than just settle for third, fourth, fifth, sixth or whatever. I want to put together a perfect lap, not just an average lap. I paid the price for that.”

Norris says McLaren remains “a long way off”

Norris had already sounded the alarm after Thursday practice, when he finished almost 1.5s behind Russell and described the deficit as “a little knife in the heart”.

McLaren closed part of that gap in qualifying, with Piastri missing the front row by only 0.001s. Russell, however, remained untouchable and secured pole by a dominant 0.837s margin.

“The car’s not been bad. It’s just we’re a long, long way off,” Norris said. “Especially my car, it’s just a long way off in the straights.

“It’s limiting because there are a lot of straights here. It’s just painful, but there’s nothing I can do.”

Why Norris considers a Baku podium impossible

Norris starts behind Russell, Charles Leclerc, Piastri and Isack Hadjar. Although Baku normally provides overtaking opportunities, its longest passing zones depend heavily on acceleration and top speed.

Asked whether he could fight for a podium, Norris replied: “Of course, I hope for a podium. But with my straight-line speed, it will be impossible.”

The McLaren driver will also need to defend from Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly and Max Verstappen immediately behind him. Baku’s long run from Turn 16 to the first corner could leave Norris vulnerable if his speed deficit remains unchanged in race trim.

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