Post-Baku Debacle: McLaren's Great Frustration

After a pointless Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the disappointment at McLaren is immense.

For a long time, it looked like Oscar Piastri was heading for a podium finish. Lando Norris was also solidly in the points.

First, the reigning world champion locked up, allowing Antonelli to slip through, and by the first Safety Car at the latest, disaster had taken its course.

Colapinto's "Reckless" Move

At the restart, Argentine Alpine driver Franco Colapinto misjudged.

He braked many meters too late and sped through the first corner on the inside with too much speed. At that pace, he wouldn't have had the slightest chance of getting through without an accident.

Colapinto first hit his teammate Pierre Gasly, who then crashed into Norris and sent him into the barrier. "Frustrating. I couldn't do anything at that moment, I had no chance. Someone just drove through there recklessly."

The Argentine showed remorse: "I just made a mistake. I can only apologize to everyone, especially to the team for supporting us so much."

A Race of Two Halves

The second McLaren driver squandered his podium chances a few laps later. After Piastri had already lost a position at the first restart, the next disaster struck him shortly after the second restart.

Almost identical to Lando Norris's lock-up in the first half of the race, the Australian had to take the escape road at Turn 1. This caused him to tumble out of the points.

After the race, the 25-year-old was frustrated, as he was quite satisfied with the first half of the race: "Of course, I'm disappointed. The first stint was really very good. I felt like I could reasonably keep up with Max and even keep him behind me."

"Then came the chaos in the second part. The first restart wasn't great, and neither was the second. At the second restart, I tried to defend and then locked up the rear axle. I have no idea exactly what happened there, but it was definitely unexpected," Piastri concluded.

"Our Responsibility as a Team"

Team Principal Andrea Stella tried to look back at the race in a nuanced way: "A weekend that we should forget on the one hand, but on the other hand, you can always learn a lot from it to ensure we make the most of it."

The Italian defended his drivers: "The car didn't have enough top speed, which naturally made it even more difficult to attack on the braking points and in the corners. This led to difficulties for the drivers."

"I want to be very clear, this is our responsibility as a team to take on. That we give them a car with which they can really drive forward and don't constantly have to look in their rearview mirrors," Stella stated.