September 13th 2024.
During practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, McLaren driver Lando Norris found himself struggling to keep up with his competitors. He openly expressed his concerns, admitting that they were "quite a long way off" the pace. With only eight races left in the season, Norris was determined to close the 62 point gap between himself and current leader Max Verstappen.
Despite the team's full support, McLaren did not have a great start at the tricky Baku City Circuit. In the first practice session, Norris finished in fourth place, but he was half a second behind Verstappen. And in the second session, he dropped all the way down to 17th place. On the other hand, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who had crashed in the first practice session, came back strong and finished fastest in the second session. Meanwhile, Mercedes was also looking fast.
After the second session, a dejected Norris shared his thoughts on their performance. He stated that they were "quite a long way off" and that he had to push too hard just to get a decent lap time. He also noted that his teammate, Oscar Piastri, was in a similar position. However, Norris believed that if they could "nail it," they would be right up there with the top competitors. But he was also aware that those competitors were far from perfect themselves.
As Norris mentioned, McLaren had a lot of work to do if they wanted to catch up to the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull. Those teams were all very close in terms of performance, with a gap of about three to four tenths of a second between them and McLaren. Norris acknowledged that there were tracks where they had not been as quick as they would have liked, despite what some people may believe.
But despite their struggles in practice, Norris remained optimistic. He knew that anything could happen on race day in Baku, as it had consistently thrown up surprises in the past. The only repeat winner at this track since its debut in 2016 was Sergio Perez. Verstappen, who claimed his only victory here in 2022, was also confident in his chances for a great result on Sunday. While he hadn't won a race since June, the three-time champion believed that they had made progress and were more competitive this weekend.
Reflecting on the day's practice sessions, Verstappen stated that they had learned a lot and now just needed to fine-tune some things. He was confident that they could be competitive, but they still needed to work on finding the right balance. Despite the challenges they faced, both Norris and Verstappen were determined to put on a strong performance and fight for victory in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
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