Norris and Piastri close Thursday practice in Azerbaijan 1.5 seconds off pace after McLaren floorboard disruption

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ended the first day of practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit with the McLaren pair roughly 1.5 seconds behind the pace, according to Formula 1’s account of Thursday running. Norris characterised McLaren’s deficit to the front as “a little knife in the heart,” saying the team were “miles off” as things stood after FP2, even though the car “didn’t feel that bad.”

Formula 1 reported that McLaren’s Thursday began with a disrupted start to the Azerbaijan weekend when upgraded floorboard parts on their MCL40 ran into issues during FP1. Norris and Piastri lost track time as mechanics worked on a fix before the cars returned for further work in FP2.

In FP2, the team’s temporary approach allowed both drivers to complete additional laps. Norris and Piastri were then described as being able to build running, ultimately finishing around 1.5 seconds behind FP2’s pace-setter, George Russell. Norris later added that, while he could not yet estimate how much of the gap might be closed overnight, his focus remained on pace rather than confidence levels: “We’re not very fast,” he said, adding that changes are expected for Friday.

McLaren’s technical leadership also addressed Thursday’s problems. Rob Marshall, the team’s Chief Technical Officer and Chief Designer, explained that McLaren had installed multiple updates for the weekend, including changes to the sidepods, engine cover, floor, diffuser and rear suspension. He said the FP1 disruption came from “a minor issue” after a crack was spotted in a component, prompting the use of tie wraps to mitigate the risk while the team assessed what to do next, alongside learning work to “dial it in” the performance.

Written by Vancouver Television Sports Desk