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Lando Norris Says McLaren Are “Miles Off” Pace in Azerbaijan Practice

Posted : 24 September 2026

Lando Norris admitted McLaren were “miles off” the pace after a difficult opening day of practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite the team bringing a major upgrade package to Baku. The world champion finished sixth in the second session, 1.484 seconds behind Mercedes driver George Russell, who topped both Thursday sessions.

McLaren had hoped its latest aerodynamic developments would provide a performance boost on the Baku City Circuit. The upgrades included changes to the sidepods, engine cover, floor and diffuser, but Norris said the size of the gap to Mercedes was disappointing.

“We’re miles off,” Norris said after FP2. “We’re in the position we expected to be in, but we’re 1.5 seconds off the pace.” He added that the car did not feel particularly bad to drive, making the deficit even more frustrating as the team prepared to analyse the data overnight.

McLaren’s day was also disrupted by technical problems. Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri both experienced floor-related issues in FP1, forcing the team to make temporary repairs before the afternoon session. McLaren said the upgrade was behaving broadly as expected in its initial data, although the team had yet to extract its full potential.

Russell led Mercedes to a one-two in FP2, finishing 0.552 seconds ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Max Verstappen was third, while Norris finished sixth and Piastri eighth.

Antonelli’s day was also compromised after a hydraulic failure stopped him during FP1, limiting him to nine laps in the opening session. Mercedes subsequently had to change his engine, meaning he missed the first half of FP2 before recovering to second fastest.

Despite McLaren’s large deficit, technical chief Rob Marshall said the team’s new components were working according to expectations and that there was still more performance to unlock. McLaren will use Friday’s final practice and qualifying sessions to further understand the package and attempt to close the gap.

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