McLaren
Lando Norris, DNF
“An immensely frustrating end to the weekend. We had been struggling with straight-line speed all weekend, but despite the car's lack of performance in that area, we were still on for a good haul of points, all of which are always valuable. However, to have my race ended by being taken out is extremely disappointing. There’s nothing you can do when you’re a passenger in an incident like that. It's a shame this is how the race ended for me and the team.
“Despite the weekend being tough, we have some positives to take away, and we'll review everything to see where we can improve and turn our full focus onto maximising performance and results in Malaysia.”
Oscar Piastri, 13th
“Very disappointing, it's not the day we wanted. We had the pace to be on the podium today, and were in a position to achieve that. The first stint was really strong for us, but the Medium tyre didn't feel as good in the second stint. The lock up at Turn 1 then dropped us to the back of the pack on flat-spotted tyres, and we could only do so much from there.
“Outside of the result, it's been a strong weekend for me, I have learned a lot and feel more comfortable in how to extract the pace from our car. We'll review, reset and then turn our attention to next weekend. So, let's see what we can do in Malaysia.”
Andrea Stella, Team Principal
“Leaving Baku with zero points is a difficult result to accept, but it is a responsibility we must take as a team. We made life too difficult for our drivers today. We were exposed by fundamental limitations of our package: too much drag, not enough top speed on the straights, and not enough pace in the corners, which forced our drivers to spend the race defending rather than progressing.
“Because of this, Lando and Oscar were under constant pressure and ultimately led to them being caught up in unfortunate events. We need to provide them with a car that is more predictable and raceable, allowing them to focus on attacking rather than constantly defending.
“We see Baku as a one-off circuit and now look to the future with optimism. The upgrades worked as intended and added lap time, but the circuit’s characteristics meant we needed a bigger step to see a clear impact, and we lost a couple of parts in the crash. Despite the outcome, there are still some positives to take away. Oscar drove a brilliant race up until the front tyre lock up, showing the fast and precise driver we know he is. We still have lessons to learn though, mainly for the team, and our focus is now on addressing our top-speed issues to ensure we are in a position to fight for the win in Malaysia.”
