Baku 'rewards' Piastri's commitment with a second-place finish

Lando Norris faces a tough race from 17th but remains hopeful of advancing despite the challenges of overtaking.

Oscar Piastri will start from the front row of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after securing the second-fastest time. The McLaren F1 driver narrowly avoided a mishap towards the end of Q3 when he grazed the wall, but he is pleased with the time he managed to shave off by pushing the limits.

“I went closer to the walls, and at the end, even too close! This track rewards commitment, and in Q3 I tried to maximise the car. I felt good throughout, I wasn’t able to get the most out of the car at the start of qualifying but I’m happy with my Q3,” Piastri remarked.

While he believes a victory is possible, the Australian admits the start will be pivotal: “Given where we’re starting, yes. But as we saw yesterday, it’s tough to follow someone so I’m hoping for some clean air. But we’ll see what we can do. Our race pace is good, but so is Ferrari’s.”

Lando Norris was knocked out in Q1 due to a yellow flag that appeared before he could complete his lap, yet he remains optimistic about his chances of making progress: “The lap was quite good but there was a yellow flag so I had to slow down.”

With the 17th fastest time, the race looks challenging for him. Asked about the possibility of quickly regaining positions, he replied: “I don’t think it’s as simple as that, honestly, following is nearly impossible here and overtaking is much worse than most people think.”

“I hope I’m wrong and there will be plenty of opportunities but I’m not expecting that, there are a lot of cars ahead of me. Downforce is very low and it’s practically impossible to overtake in the DRS trains, I don’t expect much from 17th place, but we’re going to devise a good plan tonight and do our best.”