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McLaren “in the middle of nowhere” for rest of Baku F1 weekend
Aided by tweaked floor and wing changes as part of ongoing modifications to the MCL60, Norris scored the team’s best qualifying finish of the year with a seventh-place finish in Baku.
His time of 1m 41.281s put him behind Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and sixth-placed Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who was 0.03s ahead of the Briton.
But Norris felt McLaren hadn’t executed its one-lap strategy perfectly at the expense of a top-four start in the GP, while he lamented an extra set of Pirelli tires scrubbed ahead of a separate Saturday sprint day.
Speaking of SkyNorris said: “Definitely before today, 100 per cent, we’ll take (seventh).
“It’s a good result. The sequence of upgrades worked well and the car worked well on this track at the same time. I feel like I’m doing a lot better driving and otherwise.
“I really should have been better. I think we should have been P4 today. A little disappointed, to be honest.
“We haven’t done the best job as a team in terms of making the right decisions. But other than that, things are still positive.
“But we just put ourselves in the middle ground of having a P7 today and not being able to run with new tires tomorrow. So, mixed thinking.
“However, if you look at it from over there, there are a lot of positive things. The team has done a fantastic job of getting the parts here and allowing them to work straight away.
“We were pretty confident we could put them on and everything would go well, and that’s what happened.”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60
Photography: Andrew Ferraro / motorsport pictures
Norris believes the Baku high-speed improvements come from McLaren reducing aerodynamic drag and being able to run in lower downforce settings.
He then added: “We are good at braking zones, we are good at braking in straight lines.
“If you look at Australia (last round), we weren’t bad. It’s just that we added a few things and maybe the track is right for us again. So, a combination.
“We were one second off. We should have been maybe ten-tenths behind, which is still a really good job, but we should have been four places higher.”
Rookie teammate Oscar Piastri secured 10th on the grid but gave up a place to Lance Stroll – who was ahead of the Australian in Q3 , obtained a position, when the two had the same number of flying laps, both 1 meter 41.611 seconds.
A more upbeat Piastri reported he was “a bit uncomfortable” and now had to focus on finishing a few corners to improve his time.
He continued: “It’s probably better than we expected.
“Tomorrow we’ll keep going and see what we can do to make us faster.”
Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix is not what Toto Wolff wants to be remembered for, but Sunday’s race is. Mercedes took the podium with two W14s, so the team boss was obviously very happy.
Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix by force. Despite being well ahead of second-placed Lewis Hamilton, the Dutchman struggled to keep his car between the lines. As a result, the Red Bull driver received three track limit warnings.
Hamilton’s current deal with Mercedes expires at the end of the season, fueling traditional speculation that the 38-year-old is rejoining the team that helped him win six of his seven world titles , will still withdraw from the series.
It even sparked wild speculation about a possible move to Ferrari, which was quickly refuted by all parties.
Both Hamilton and Wolff have often said they could hammer out a new deal without too much difficulty, and after Sunday’s Spanish GP, Hamilton gave his firmest hint yet that a renewal was imminent.
Asked in his post-race press conference if a new deal was in the works, Hamilton laughed and said: “Well, I haven’t signed anything yet, but I think we’ll meet Toto tomorrow. So hopefully, We can accomplish some things.”
Hamilton’s words were echoed by Wolff when he was asked by Sky Sports F1 when Hamilton’s new deal would be reached.
“I think we just need to find time to sit down and have a cup of coffee. It will take half an hour,” he said.
Hamilton believes his Mercedes contract situation has had no impact on his performances, but admits it will be easier for him and the team to focus on challenging Red Bull in 2024 once the deal is over.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG, second, interview with Nico Rosberg after race
Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures
“Well, you can see today: my grades, my performances are not affected by that,” Hamilton explained.
“I think it’s always in the back of your mind, so once that’s done, you can focus more on the future.
“But as I said, I’m trying to work as hard as I can with this team. I see so much power in a team and I think they’re still very hungry.
“Today’s podium was truly special; the excitement of seeing all the people I’ve worked with in such a short time.
“When we go back now, there will be energy in the office. But these people don’t take two seconds to enjoy themselves and be happy.
“Then they’ll go back to the books and try to figure out how we can win the next game. That’s what I love about them.”
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