Lando Norris feels P4 was within touching distance in qualifying, frustrated with his session despite the significant forward step McLaren has taken in Baku.
McLaren has spoken extensively about the importance of the Baku upgrade package, consisting of a new floor that was originally meant for the first round in Bahrain – but which has been delayed.
In any case, the Woking-based team now finds itself in a position where it can fight for points and make itself a nuisance at the front of the midfield.
Alpine’s recent difficulties will provide further encouragement for McLaren, who can cement themselves as 5th-place in the standings with a clean Saturday and Sunday.
However, speaking after qualifying, Lando Norris was far from pleased with his starting position for Sunday:
“I think before today, 100%, we would have taken it – I think it’s a great result,” the Briton told Sky Sports.
“But I think a sequence of the upgrades working well, the car working well on this circuit and feeling like I did a better job with my driving [means] it should have been a lot better, really.
“I think we should have been P4 today.
“Yeah, a bit disappointed. Honestly, we as a team didn’t do the best job with making the correct decisions of what to do.
“But apart from that, things are still positive. We just put ourselves in the middle of nowhere with having a P7 today and not being able to do the runs tomorrow with the new tyres.
“So yeah, mixed minds, but many positive things. If you look at it from that side, the team have done a great job getting the parts here and allowing them to work straight away.
“And [also] with the confidence that we can put them on and run cleanly.”
This immediate forward step has vindicated McLaren’s confidence in their updates, which is something Andrea Stella has spoken about since the winter break.
The British squad is obviously still far from its goal of competing at the front, but today’s double-Q3 appearance indicates the situation is far more positive than it seemed after Bahrain.
Looking ahead to the remainder of this weekend, Norris and Piastri will hope to avoid the mistakes that have been relatively common in Baku so far.
