The McLaren Formula 1 team faced a challenging weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as both of its drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, struggled to make an impact from difficult grid positions. Oscar Piastri, the current World Championship leader, experienced a setback early in the race with a crash that ended his race prematurely, marking his first retirement of the 2025 season. This incident, now known as the Oscar Piastri Baku crash, has raised questions about his performance under pressure ahead of the season’s final stretch.
Details of Piastri’s Difficult Race in Baku
Piastri was demoted to ninth on the starting grid due to a crash in qualifying. At the race’s start, he moved forward prematurely before the lights went out, which triggered the anti-stall mechanism and dropped him to last place. Attempting to recover lost ground amid the first lap’s heavy traffic, he unfortunately collided again, forcing his retirement. This was a rare mistake from Piastri, who had maintained an otherwise clean and consistent campaign so far.
Reflecting on his error, Piastri told Road & Track,
“I think just ultimately I misjudged the grip level,”
and added,
“And probably a little of that is from dirty air. But I know better than that to expect the lack of grip. So certainly not blaming it on anything else.”
Despite the setback, his calm reaction demonstrated his maturity and professionalism amid the disappointment.
Piastri’s Response and Mindset After the Crash
Known for his composed approach, Piastri was quick to focus on recovery rather than dwelling on the mishap. He remarked,
“Obviously you are never going to feel amazing after a weekend like this,”
before emphasizing his determination to move forward.
“But ultimately, I felt like the pace has still been good this weekend. And I think it’s rare that I have so many executional errors. So I’m very much focused on putting that behind me. I would be much more concerned if these errors were because I was trying to make up time, or do things like that. Obviously they’ve been costly errors, but they’re things that can be very, very easily rectified.”
Piastri denied that the pressure of leading the championship affected his mental state, insisting,
“There’s not been anything that different,”
and explaining that the weekend “felt like any other weekend.” He attributed his problems to multiple small mistakes across every session, describing the weekend as “messy” and prioritizing cleaning up those errors for the future.
McLaren’s Assurance on Piastri’s Performance and Future
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella defended Piastri, highlighting that even the greatest drivers face setbacks during a long season. Stella recalled his experience working with champions like Michael Schumacher, explaining,
“In every season, even the most dominant, even by one of the best drivers in the history of F1, like Michael Schumacher, I have seen events like this. Events in which the most you take away is the learning. As soon as you misjudge the grip available, you get highly punished. So a one-off weekend in which things don’t go your way, and you ultimately have lots to review, is no surprise, no exception that we should be worried about. Because this has happened to pretty much all champions, even the ones with the best track record.”
After the tough weekend, Stella remained confident that Piastri would bounce back quickly. He shared,
“Certainly there was more in the car, and there was a possibility to fight for podiums for both Oscar and for Lando, For Oscar, he comes out with no points and lots of learning. I’ve already had a chat with Oscar, and his mind is already fully functional, processing, he’s already into ‘That’s what I’ve learned. I look forward to the next one.’ And also we said with Oscar that today, even without issues, it’s not like there were many points available, starting P9. So lots of learning for Oscar, and no points.”
Lando Norris’ Struggles and Reflection on the Weekend
Meanwhile, Lando Norris started seventh on the grid but immediately lost positions at the start due to poor qualifying performance and the challenging nature of the track after a light rain. His struggles with the car’s handling through the Azerbaijan GP were clear, as he described the vehicle as
“difficult to drive, on a bit of a knife-edge at times.”
He acknowledged the challenge, saying,
“Easy to either be just too slow, sometimes kind of feel like you’re there, and then lock up and then something goes wrong. The car didn’t fill us with a lot of confidence this weekend, and I think that that showed from probably both of our performances.”
Though missing a bigger chance to narrow Piastri’s championship lead, Norris remained focused and undeterred by criticism. He stated,
“I’m doing the best I can in every race, Every race I finished second or worse this year was an opportunity lost. So I don’t really care how people look at it. Of course, I wanted to do better today. I needed to do better yesterday, but we went out first. This was just our decision, and we paid the price for that. Then I also could have ended up in a wall and something worse happened. I’m doing the best I can, and I know I’ve still got a lot of points to make up against a pretty good driver – an incredible driver – so I just need to keep my head down.”
Implications for the Championship Fight
After the Azerbaijan GP, Oscar Piastri holds a 25-point lead over his teammate Lando Norris, matching the number of points a race winner can earn in a single event. This tight gap maintains the tension in the ongoing title fight between McLaren’s drivers. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, winner of the last two events, trails by 44 points. Although Verstappen’s chances at the title appear slim, his presence as a fierce competitor adds unpredictability and extra challenge to the championship battle.
The pressure will intensify over the remaining seven races of the season, where every driver and team must capitalize on opportunities while minimizing mistakes. Despite the costly errors in Baku, Piastri’s composure and Stella’s confidence suggest that McLaren’s clear focus is on maintaining momentum into the final rounds. For Norris, recovering lost ground is critical, but his resilient attitude will be vital as the season moves toward its climax.
