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Baku Exposes McLaren’s Straight-Line Weakness
123Helmets Editorial Team
McLaren left the Azerbaijan Grand Prix without a point for the third time in 2026, and Team Principal Andrea Stella says the Baku street circuit exposed a straight-line speed deficit that left Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri defending rather than attacking for most of the afternoon.
Key Takeaways
McLaren failed to score points in Azerbaijan for the third time in 2026, after also drawing blanks in China and Canada.
Oscar Piastri ran second for much of the race before a Turn 1 escape-road error, compounded by a bunched-up field behind the Safety Car, dropped him out of the top 10.
Lando Norris lost performance to a PU issue and was later eliminated after contact stemming from the Franco Colapinto/Pierre Gasly collision, also losing new upgrade parts introduced in Baku.
Andrea Stella says McLaren’s core problem in Baku was a lack of straight-line speed, which left both drivers exposed to attack rather than able to race forward.
What went wrong for McLaren in Baku
McLaren scored no points in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the third such result of the 2026 season after similar afternoons in China and Canada. Team Principal Andrea Stella said the team paid for what he called fundamental limitations of the MCL40 package around the Baku street circuit.
“It’s been a very frustrating Saturday,” said Stella. “I think we had issues and some mistakes, but at the same time I think we paid some fundamental limitations of our package in this kind of circuit, because we were not fast enough in the corners.”
He went further on the specific weakness that shaped the whole race for McLaren.
The straight-line speed problem, in Stella’s own words
McLaren’s central issue in Baku was a lack of straight-line pace, according to Andrea Stella, and it left both cars unable to build a race rather than simply survive one. “But at the same time, mainly we were not fast enough in the straights, and this continuously exposed our drivers to being attacked and having to spend their race pretty much watching the mirrors rather than thinking at how they can progress in the race,” Stella said.
Baku’s long full-throttle sections between heavy braking zones make straight-line speed a decisive factor, and a shortfall there converts directly into cars queuing up in the mirrors of a McLaren, regardless of how the car behaves through the corners.
Piastri’s near-miss podium run
Oscar Piastri produced his best showing of a troubled 2026 season in Baku, running second for much of the Grand Prix before a late mistake cost him a likely podium finish. He ran wide down the Turn 1 escape road in the closing laps, and with the field bunched tightly behind a Safety Car restart, he tumbled out of the top 10 before he could rejoin and fight back.
Stella praised the manner in which Piastri handled the pressure before the error. “Oscar did this sort of defensive race very well,” said Stella. “He was very precise. His race reminded me very much of what he did in 2024 to win the race, when he held [Charles] Leclerc behind for a l…”
The comparison to Piastri’s 2024 Baku win against Charles Leclerc underlines how close the Australian came to converting a genuinely strong defensive drive into a result, only for the final laps to undo it.
Norris: PU trouble, then collateral damage
Lando Norris had a messy weekend in Baku, hampered by a power unit issue that cost him performance on the straights relative to his team mate. Despite the deficit, the reigning World Champion looked set to salvage some consolation points before he was caught up in the aftermath of the Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly collision.
The incident eliminated Norris from the race and also cost him some of the upgraded parts McLaren had introduced specifically for the Baku round, adding technical setback to a lost points opportunity for Norris.
A season pattern McLaren needs to break
Baku was McLaren’s third scoreless race of 2026, following blank weekends in China and Canada, and it highlighted a straight-line deficit that Stella says is now a recurring limitation on certain circuit layouts. The team’s challenge heading toward the remaining rounds is turning strong on-track defensive performances, like Piastri showed in Baku, into results that actually reach the finish line.
For fans following the visual side of a season this eventful, moments like Piastri’s near-podium defensive drive and Norris’s ill-fated fight back are exactly the kind of race weekends that end up commemorated on display-ready collector helmets long after the results sheet is forgotten.
“It’s been a very frustrating Saturday. I think we had issues and some mistakes, but at the same time I think we paid some fundamental limitations of our package in this kind of circuit, because we were not fast enough in the corners.”
— Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal
“But at the same time, mainly we were not fast enough in the straights, and this continuously exposed our drivers to being attacked and having to spend their race pretty much watching the mirrors rather than thinking at how they can progress in the race.”
— Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal
“Oscar did this sort of defensive race very well. He was very precise. His race reminded me very much of what he did in 2024 to win the race, when he held [Charles] Leclerc behind for a l…”
— Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal
FAQ
Q: Why did McLaren fail to score points in Baku?
McLaren scored no points because both cars ran into separate trouble late in the race, with Oscar Piastri making a Turn 1 error while running second and Lando Norris eliminated in a collision caused by Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly. Team Principal Andrea Stella also pointed to a straight-line speed deficit that left both drivers under constant pressure.
Q: How many times has McLaren failed to score in 2026?
Three times. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix marked McLaren’s third scoreless race of the 2026 season, after similar results in China and Canada.
Q: What was Oscar Piastri’s position before his late mistake in Baku?
He was running second for much of the race. Piastri looked set for a podium finish before running down the Turn 1 escape road in the closing laps and dropping out of the top 10 as the field was bunched by the Safety Car.
Q: What issue did Lando Norris have during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
He suffered a power unit issue that cost him straight-line performance relative to his team mate. Norris was later eliminated after contact stemming from the Franco Colapinto/Pierre Gasly collision, also losing upgraded parts McLaren had introduced for the Baku round.
Q: What did Andrea Stella say was McLaren’s main weakness in Baku?
A lack of straight-line speed. Stella said this left McLaren’s drivers exposed to being attacked rather than able to race forward, on top of corner-speed limitations of the car package.
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