McLaren left Azerbaijan with more questions than answers. Team principal Andrea Stella defended his driver, Lando Norris, after a frustrating weekend in Baku. The Briton’s qualifying error at Turn 15 effectively ruined his chances of a good race result, leaving him stuck in the middle of the pack when a front-row start had been within reach. During the race, Norris achieved a modest points haul, but Stella was quick to deflect blame from the driver.

Stella pointed out that the McLaren MCL38 was never capable of cutting through the traffic with the required ease to salvage a strong result.

“This was obviously a missed opportunity in the Drivers’ Championship, but we didn’t give Lando a car that could charge forward on Sunday,” he said. “His drive was clean, consistent and mistake-free, the missing element was raw pace.”

The team chief also reminded observers that the competition is not only between Norris and his teammate, Oscar Piastri, but also against the reigning champion, Max Verstappen. “Our focus must remain on pushing Red Bull and putting pressure on Max in future races,” he said. “The bigger picture is what matters.”

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A qualifying error proved decisive

The cold facts of qualifying underlined just how costly Norris’s slip had been. In Q3, his misjudgement at Turn 15 cost him more than half a second, undoing what had otherwise been a strong session.

Data suggested that, had he not made a mistake, he could have placed second on the grid, just two tenths behind Verstappen. Instead, he lined up significantly further back in a city where starting position is crucial for success.

While Verstappen and Carlos Sainz executed their Q3 laps perfectly, Norris was left regretting the error that relegated him to the middle of the pack. With a realistic chance of finishing third, if not second, the door to the podium had been cracked wide open — before being slammed shut by one mistimed corner. Once again, Baku reminded the paddock that qualifying defines the narrative of race day.

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A solid drive, but poor execution

In defence of his driver, Stella insisted that the race performance itself could not be faulted.

“No other driver could have got more out of that car. Lando stayed composed, drove without errors, and delivered the maximum”

“If anything, the team let him down. A slicker pit stop might have given him the opportunity to challenge Liam Lawson,” he admitted.

In fairness, telemetry backs up this view. When running in clean air, Norris’s lap times were often within a tenth or two of Verstappen’s. This suggests that McLaren’s true pace was second only to Red Bull. With a front-row start and sharper strategy calls, a podium finish would have been within reach. Instead, damage limitation was all that remained, as Verstappen’s dominance appeared far more absolute than it actually was.

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McLaren’s wasted chance

The events in Azerbaijan exposed a team with the speed, but lacking the consistency required for a sustained title push. Stella’s defence of Norris was an attempt to shield his driver from criticism, but it was also a tacit admission that McLaren had failed to perform when it mattered most.

Much like Ferrari’s infamous “strategic masterplans”, their Baku campaign will be remembered as a race where potential was squandered rather than fulfilled.

For Norris, the weekend was less about mistakes and more about the painful realisation that Formula 1 is as much about timing and execution as it is about outright speed. His moment of uncertainty at Turn 15 may have been the trigger, but the subsequent lack of a quick pit stop and decisive calls from the pit wall only compounded the problem.

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McLaren’s favourite child? The Norris–Piastri balance

For all Stella’s noble defence of Norris in Baku, some in the paddock see a recurring theme: McLaren, the critics argue, appear far quicker to shield or support their established star than his younger teammate, Oscar Piastri.

At Monza this year, Norris lost time with a slow pit stop, only for the team to instruct Piastri to hand back his position later in the race. The Australian obeyed, but not without first questioning whether pit-stop misfortune should dictate team orders. Go back further to Hungary last season and a similar picture emerges, with swaps that seemed to favour Norris.

McLaren may insist that they simply manage their races with the bigger picture in mind, but the evidence keeps mounting. From an outsider’s perspective, it appears less like equal treatment and more like a team subtly shaping its strategy around one ‘preferred’ driver.

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Warning signs for the championship?

The question now is whether this is an isolated stumble or a warning flare for McLaren’s title ambitions. On the one hand, the orange cars clearly have the pace to challenge Verstappen and Red Bull on merit. However, lapses in execution, whether from the cockpit or the pit wall, will not be forgiven in a title fight measured in tenths of a second.

For Stella, the conclusion is straightforward: Norris was not the weak link. The real weakness lies in McLaren’s inability to seize opportunities when they arise. This may have been tolerable in April, but as the championship intensifies, there is little room for error.

Of course, one cannot discuss Baku without acknowledging the absurd theatre of McLaren’s weekend. It was as if the team had been inspired by an IKEA manual, everything was technically present, but assembled in just the wrong order to work properly.

Norris had the potential to reach the podium, but somewhere between qualifying with an Allen key and the pit strategy, the whole structure faltered.

McLaren, once renowned for their precision and execution, resembled an over-caffeinated amateur DIY enthusiast, leaving screws in the carpet and wondering why the chair wobbled when someone sat on it. Andrea Stella’s stoic defence of Norris resembled a weary neighbour explaining that, yes, the shelf looks crooked, but it’s really the wall’s fault, not the carpenter’s.

The real disappointment for the team is that Verstappen’s supposed domination was not quite as dominant as the result suggested. Had the McLarens avoided mistakes, the Dutchman might have found himself glancing nervously at his mirrors instead of cruising to victory. Instead, McLaren gave him breathing room, turning what could have been a hard-fought contest into a procession.

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Can McLaren learn fast enough?

History has shown that title-winning teams are those that learn and adapt at a blistering pace. Red Bull ironed out their problems a decade ago, Ferrari continue to prove that learning is optional and Mercedes are still trying to remember which pedal makes the car go faster. McLaren now find themselves at a crossroads: will they polish their execution to match their speed, or will they continue to trip over their shoelaces while chasing Verstappen?

The patience of both fans and pundits will certainly be tested by Lando Norris. He is no longer a rookie with the luxury of time to develop. His machinery is now good enough to deliver consistent podium finishes, if not victories. However, if mistakes continue to creep in, no matter how much Stella defends him, the narrative will quickly shift from “potential champion” to “nearly man”.

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After months of speculation, negotiations and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, the saga surrounding Christian Horner’s future with Red Bull Racing has finally come to a conclusion. After months of speculation, negotiations and behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, the Austrian drinks giant and its former team principal have agreed terms for an immediate parting of ways. This brings an end to Horner’s two-decade tenure at the helm of the team, during which he delivered an era of extraordinary success.

According to reports in the British press, the separation has not come cheaply. Horner’s contract, which was due to end in 2030, has been terminated early following a settlement reportedly worth tens of millions of euros. The Times puts the figure at an astonishing €90 million, and the Daily Mail reports that lawyers for both parties spent weeks negotiating to ensure that Red Bull would not remain liable for the full projected salary…READ MORE ON THIS STORY