McLaren’s Lando Norris will start the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP P5 on the starting grid. The Briton’s fastest lap in qualifying was 1:43.672, 1.146s slower than pole sitter George Russell.
Looking ahead to the main race on Saturday, Norris reveals that he is not confident his McLaren will be in the position to fight for a podium at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP as he laments the car’s significant straight-line speed deficit.
Norris on McLaren’s lack of pace at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP
Despite initially going P2 in the early part of qualifying 3, on his final flying lap, the Briton locked up into Turn 3 and went for a trip to the run-off, bringing out the final yellow flags of the session. This ultimately led to Norris being unable to improve. Thus, he had to settle for P5.
Reflecting on his disappointing qualifying session, the reigning world champion took full responsibility for the incident, admitting it was “the price of pushing too much”. However, the Briton stressed that he had to push to aim for pole.
Nonetheless, he also highlighted McLaren’s significant lack of pace on the straights compared to the grid.
When asked about McLaren’s improvement in pace from Thursday, Norris was quick to share that he did not agree McLaren found any significant pace, as he shared, “I don’t think we found any pace.
“Yeah, I think relative to others. Always expect that with lower fuel. But it’s still 8 tenths off of pole.
“To be honest, most of our time losses to them are a lot of it’s in the straights. So it’s not a lot I can do about that. Honestly, I’ve been comfortable in the car the whole weekend. Just my last lap, I made a mistake and paid the price. But I’m at a point in the championship where I kind of have to go for pole. Or I kind of died trying. And of course I paid the price of pushing too much today. But it is what it is.”
More issues on Norris’ car compared to Piastri’s
Coming into the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, McLaren were one of the few teams to bring some major upgrades to their challenger. These included a revised sidepod inlet shape, engine cover and an alternative sidepod with the goal of enhancing aerodynamic performance.
When asked if he still planned to optimise the upgrades heading into the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, Norris bluntly admitted that he was only focused on his qualifying performance.
He added that while the team has confirmed the upgrades were performing, it was difficult as they were still losing eight tenths to Mercedes.
Regardless, the Briton once again emphasised McLaren’s lack of straight-line speed as the main reason, an issue he reveals affected him more than teammate Oscar Piastri, who will be starting the race in P3.
“I’m just thinking of qualifying now. The guys say everything is working as expected. But when you see eight tenths to the top, it’s painful. But at the same time, like I said, our time losses are in the straights. That’s another area we just need to look at. Because we’re just a step worse to Mercedes in everything straight-line related. So it’s been tough. Especially my car. For some reason, my car is even worse compared to the other side. So it’s just making my life very painful.“
In Q1 of qualifying at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, Norris had mentioned over the radio that he suspected something was wrong with his McLaren. Following the end of qualifying, the Briton shared that it was only the high wind speeds felt around the Baku City Circuit.
“It was just wind. It was like a 45kph wind. I don’t know what else.”
Norris was also asked if McLaren were going to show the full potential of the new upgrades during the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, to which the Briton stressed that his goal was just to maximise his performance of the car during the race.
“I guess. I don’t know. If the team does what they want, I will focus on driving the car.”
On McLaren’s straight-line disadvantage
Norris then shared his insights on McLaren’s straight-line speed deficit at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, especsially in comparison to current Constructor Championship leader, Mercedes.
According to the 26-year-old, there were a myriad of factors contributing to the car’s lack of speed on the straight and his McLaren was affected by these factors worse as compared to his teammate’s. As a result, Norris was forced to push his MCL26 harder to compensate for the lack of straight-line speed.
The Briton also praised the Mercedes W17, adding that “they’re just doing a better job in all areas”.
“It’s multiple. Like I said, there’s more in my car for some reason than the other car. So we have to understand why. I’m basically having to push more than Oscar to try and make up for my straight-line speed. But as to Mercedes, they have a very efficient car. They always have done for years. We need to take a big step in that direction. We want to be competitive in any straight-line speed track for the rest of the season. I don’t know. It’s [referring to the Mercedes] just a good car in all the corners as well. They’re just doing a better job in all areas.”
Looking ahead to the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP
Ahead of the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, Norris shared that McLaren did not make any significant overnight changes to their car.
As shared by the Briton, the car had performed decently all weekend thus far. It just struggled in the slow-speed corners, resulting in significant lost of time.
“No, not a lot to be honest. Tweaking things. The car’s been good yesterday, it’s been good today. We’re a second off because half of it’s in the straights and half of it’s just…We’re still struggling in slow-speed corners.”
The reigning champion is not confident ahead of the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, as he reflected, “I think I’m probably the slowest in the straights.”
