Norris left with ‘knife in the heart’ feeling after Baku practice

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri faced a challenging start at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, finishing 1.5 seconds off the pace in practice after their session was disrupted by floorboard issues on their upgraded MCL40. Lando Norris described the performance gap as disappointing, noting that while the car did not feel inherently bad, the significant deficit to pace-setter George Russell was disheartening. McLaren’s Chief Technical Officer Rob Marshall explained that the team introduced a substantial update package, including revisions to sidepods and floor components. He noted that the team is still learning how to optimize these changes and addressed the mechanical issues as minor, emphasizing that they are treating the car as a prototype while working to refine performance for the remainder of the weekend.