McLaren: Oscar Piastri optimistic, Lando Norris concerned

The words of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

After his 17th place in the second free practice session, Lando Norris, to the microphones of the various media, did not hide his concern about the level of competitiveness shown by McLaren in this beginning of the weekend in Baku.

"We are very far from our expectations. I have to push too hard to try to get a good lap time. I think Oscar’s position more or less reflects our competitiveness. I think with the right set-up we can have our say in qualifying, but we are still far from what our goals" began the British driver.

"We have a lot to work out, honestly. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are very similar. There'è a big difference between us and them, so we will have to work hard to reduce the distance" added McLaren’s number 4.

"Ferrari è very fast here, Mercedes will also have their say with these track conditions, which are very slippery. We do well on circuits with more grip. The situation è difficult, as we have a gap of about three or four tenths from our rivals. There'è a lot of work to be done ahead of qualifying" commented Lando Norris.

Less negative, on the other hand, was the analysis of teammate Oscar Piastri, who found good feelings in the long run and ended FP2 in fifth place: "I think it was a decent day, although è a little bit; difficult to establish with certainty our level of competitiveness". I think we can fight for the top positions, although Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes went very strong.

The race pace simulation è was positive, but the others also did good laps. On this track it counts a lot to be able to get everything right, if you can do it you can make a big difference and è what we will try to do in qualifying and during the Gp".