Norris rueing “costly” wall hit in F1 Azerbaijan GP practice

Lando Norris reckons he is now on the backfoot for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a “costly” error during the second Formula 1 practice session.

The McLaren driver topped FP1 but finished 10th in FP2 after clattering the outside wall of the Turn 4 exit, which brought an early end to his session as the left-rear track rod was ripped out.

Norris was left rueing the incident and how it ended his opportunities to build up confidence around the Baku street circuit with Pirelli having brought its softest range of tyres this weekend. 

“A costly one, especially here,” said Norris. “I was feeling good until then. I’d rather have this and push and find the limits than not push at all.

“So yeah, annoying, but I would have liked to get some high fuel laps in, especially on these tyres, the softer compound compared to last year. But it is what it is and I’ll have to make up for it.”

It was a problematic FP2 all around at McLaren though, as championship leader Oscar Piastri finished 12th after hitting the outside wall at Turn 15, though that incident inflicted little damage. 

That was despite Norris topping his title rival in a 1-2 in opening practice, with 31 points separating the top two drivers ahead of the final eight grands prix of the 2025 campaign. 

“The track’s very different to last year, it’s quite a bit quicker, and it’s a softer compound, which we don’t use that often,” added Norris. 

“We use it in Monaco, Imola, I think that’s it. So, certainly I’m behind on the learnings now, but a scrappy session, I guess, from both my side, I think from Oscar’s side, he seemed to be struggling a little bit with the car as well, so we’ll see what we can make up for tomorrow.”

Lewis Hamilton instead topped a Ferrari 1-2 in second practice, as the seven-time world champion beat team-mate Charles Leclerc by 0.074s with both Mercedes drivers in third and fourth. 

Norris is therefore expecting a strong challenge from the Italian outfit, which was on pole in Baku last year through Leclerc although he eventually finished second to Piastri.

“They were easily the quickest here last year, even though Oscar won,” said Norris. “So, I think Ferrari will be quick.”

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Alexander Nemenov / AFP via Getty Images

He is also wary of Red Bull despite Max Verstappen, who won last time out at Monza, not finishing a session above sixth likewise with team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

“Red Bull are going to be quick, they never go on Friday, but then they go to sleep and they wake up and then they’re just quick again,” said Norris. “So, no, I expect a challenge from at least three other cars tomorrow.”

Piastri was still positive after both Friday practice sessions, though he missed a chunk of the FP1 action due to an issue with the Mercedes power unit in his McLaren. 

“A bit tricky, just a bit up and down,” said Piastri. “I think the pace is there, it’s just not the easiest to get the most out of it at the moment, so that’s probably the main thing.

“We tried a few things in FP2, I’m sure we’ll look back and see what we can change for tomorrow, but I think it’s going to be a bit different with tyre choices and stuff like that. So I think there’s still a lot of positives from today, just a few tricky moments.”