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Laurence Edmondson, F1 Editor
BAKU, Azerbaijan — Lando Norris said that he believes McLaren is “a long way off” the pace of rival teams Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes after Friday practice for this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver needs to routinely outscore championship rival Max Verstappen if he is to stand any chance of overhauling the three-time champion’s 62-point lead in the final eight races of the season.
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During Friday’s second practice session in Baku, Norris was 17th in the final classification after he had to abort his fastest lap when he came across Pierre Gasly’s Alpine in the final sector.
Even allowing for the lap he could have posted without being impeded, Norris said that he thinks McLaren will struggle to close the gap to its rivals after his teammate Oscar Piastri ended up 0.5 seconds off the fastest time set by Charles Leclerc.
“We’re quite a long way off,” Norris said. “I’m having to push way too much to try and get a lap time out of it.
“I think where Oscar was is kind of more where we are. So I think if we nail it, we’re just about there, but I’m sure they’re not even close to nailing it yet. I think we have quite a lot to find, honestly.
“Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, they’re all very similar. And then there’s a good 0.3 to 0.4 second gap back to us so a lot of work to do.
“Ferrari are very quick here. Mercedes will be quick with these track conditions. It’s very slidey out there.
“We perform well on the higher grip circuits. Finding it difficult but we’ll work hard tonight [before Saturday’s qualifying].”
Verstappen finished second practice in sixth place behind Piastri, but his teammate Sergio Pérez set the second fastest time, just 0.006 seconds off Leclerc’s best effort.
After struggling with the balance of his car at the last race at Monza, Verstappen is confident Red Bull will be more competitive in Baku this weekend.
“Overall, a good day,” the championship leader said. “We learned quite a bit and now it’s about tidying up the things that we tried.
“We have been more competitive this weekend so that’s positive.
“There’s been a lot of work in the background which won’t stop. Today was positive.”