McLaren, uphill start
Judging by the results, the Friday of testing on the Baku track would not seem to be exactly unforgettable for the two McLaren drivers. In reality, the time measurements are a waste of time and not only because the results of the free practice sessions are historically not very significant. Landon Norrisfor example, did finish FP2 in 17th place, but the final result was mainly influenced bymisunderstanding with Pierre Gasly on the long straight leading to the finish line: after having set the record in the first and second sectors, the young English talent had to lift his foot to avoid a high-speed contact with the Alpine driver, effectively aborting his qualifying simulation.
Norris-Gasly Tension
A dangerous situation that could also be linked to a small technical problem on the A524 by Gasly, who in fact apologized over the radio, attributing the misunderstanding to the fact that he found himself with a completely flat battery. “I think Pierre – commented Norris after FP2 – did not use all the power on the straight. He didn’t assess the situation wellbut it doesn’t matter because I had already completed my tour anyway”. Regardless of the result, the Englishman is still not very satisfied with the behaviour of the MCL38: “We are quite far away. Even if I didn’t push too hard to try to make the time, I think Oscar’s level is more or less representative of where we are today. There is a lot of room for improvement compared to Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, which are all three very similar. For now the gap from them is three or four tenths, so there is a lot of work to do.”.
Oscar Piastri speaks
Less negative is the impression of a Oscar Plates who finished in fifth place but made a positive impression especially in the first laps of the long run, managing to lap with a certain consistency around the 1:48 average before suffering a drop in tyre pressure.I think it was a good day discreet – said the young Australian in the interview ring – although it’s a bit difficult to know anything precise at the moment, with the track that hasn’t had a great evolution. However, we think we are more or less in the fight, even if Ferrari has been quite strong and with them also Red Bull and Mercedes. I think there are four teams that seem to be doing quite well. The race simulation was competitive and positive, but also the others have done some good laps. On this track it is very important to be able to get everything right, if you succeed you can make a big difference. We will try tomorrow”.
#McLaren #uphill #start #Baku #Norris #work #tenths
