Lando Norris says “we should have been P4 today” in qualifying after the McLaren driver qualified in seventh place.
The British driver outqualified his teammate Oscar Piastri who finished in P10 in Azerbaijan as both McLarens reached Q3 in qualifying for the first time this year.
Norris was slightly disappointed with P7 and said: “It should have been a lot better. We should have been P4 today. A bit disappointed honestly. I think as a team we didn’t do the best job making the right decisions what to do, but still things were positive.”
McLaren have brought upgrades to Baku including a different floor and a circuit-specific lower drag rear wing.
The 23-year-old said the new parts worked well and the Woking-based team have been trying to reduce drag.
“Definitely before today we would have taken (P7). It’s a great result! A sequence of the upgrades working well. The car working well on the track at the same time. I feel like I did a better job with my driving and things.
“We were pushing hard to get the drag off the car so we are running low downforce and the floor is working well.”
Piastri will start Sunday’s Grand Prix in tenth place after he secured his second appearance in Q3 this year.
The Australian matched Lance Stroll’s time but will start behind the Aston Martin driver as the Canadian set the time first.
Piastri said: “I think having both of us in Q3 is a really good result for the team. A little bit frustrating to do the same time as Lance (Stroll) but to get into Q3 is a really positive day anyway.
“It’s not been the easiest day for myself, I’ve been a little bit under the weather but I’m happy to be in Q3. Nice to start the weekend off well.”
Piastri said that the car has been performing well but there were a few turns the 2021 F2 champion could have maximised more lap time at.
“We haven’t really looked at anything since qualifying yet so I’m sure there’s a few things. I know there’s a couple of corners I need to tidy up and find a bit of time in.
“But I think the car has been working well and it’s probably been a better day than what we expected so we’ll keep it rolling for tomorrow and see what we can do to make us even quicker.”
