the unfortunate timing of a virtual safety car.<\/a><\/p>\nMcLaren were hoping for a step forward in Baku after introducing a significant upgrade package to their car.<\/p>\n
But Norris was sixth fastest, 1.484 seconds off the pace set by Mercedes driver George Russell, after the first day’s running.<\/p>\n
“We’re up there,” Norris said. “Relatively, we’re in the position we expect to be in, but I’m 1.5secs off the pace, so pretty pants.<\/p>\n
“We’ll see what work we can do tonight but it’s a little knife in the heart when you see how far off you are.”<\/p>\n
McLaren are one of several teams to bring a major aerodynamic development to Baku, theirs focusing on revised bodywork shaping around the sidepod air inlets, engine cover, floor and diffuser.<\/p>\n
Chief technical officer Rob Marshall said: “We’ve introduced a significant upgrade this weekend and the initial data suggests the car is behaving as our simulations predicted, which is a positive starting point. However, it’s clear we haven’t yet unlocked its full potential.”<\/p>\n
Russell headed both practice sessions, with the F1 weekend running unusually from Thursday to Saturday because it is Azerbaijan’s national remembrance day on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Briton led team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.552 seconds in the second session. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was Russell’s closest rival in the first session, when Antonelli suffered a hydraulic failure, and third fastest in the second session.<\/p>\n
Antonelli’s reliability problems also meant he missed the first half of the second session, and overall he had half the amount of running of Russell.<\/p>\n
The Italian, who leads the championship by a massive 81 points from Russell, said: “We tried to do the max with what we had. Lost quite a few laps in FP1 and then missing half off FP2 is never ideal, especially in a street circuit.<\/p>\n
“But overall I feel it was a good recovery. I feel quite good in the car. A few things to work on but looking forward to tomorrow.”<\/p>\n
McLaren’s rivals rejected the idea that they were struggling badly.<\/p>\n
Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache said: “Mercedes are quicker. McLaren looks a little bit quicker or similar to us.”<\/p>\n
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur said: “The McLaren was very quick but they never finished their lap.”<\/p>\n
And Mercedes deputy team principal Bradley Lord said he did not “think the gaps are representative”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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