McLaren’s claim about Lando Norris’ slow pit stop disputed: “Four points down the pan”

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has disputed Andrea Stella’s claim that McLaren’s latest slow pit stop didn’t affect Lando Norris’ end result in Azerbaijan.

Norris endured a lacklustre weekend in Baku, finishing seventh.

While he reduced Oscar Piastri’s lead by six points in the race for the world championship, it was seen as a missed opportunity for Norris.

Norris could have had a late charge for the podium.

He ran long on the hard tyres in a bid to jump Liam Lawson and Charles Leclerc.

However, another slow pit stop meant he dropped behind the pair.

Norris dispatched Leclerc with ease but was unable to get ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who stopped one lap later than the McLaren driver.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, team boss Stella suggested Norris didn’t lose out because of the slow stop.

“The pit stop itself didn’t make any difference because we would have ended up pretty much in the area of Leclerc. For me, the most important takeaway was that the car wasn’t fast enough.

“With a fast enough car, I think we would have been able to overtake and then have some free air, and then in free air actually use the full potential.”

Why Norris lost fifth

Palmer disagreed with Stella’s claim Norris didn’t lose out.

During an analysis segment for F1 TV, Palmer explained that if Norris had rejoined ahead of Leclerc – without that slow stop – then it was likely he’d have undercut Tsunoda.

This would have given him a clear run at Lawson, without Tsunoda in the way.

Palmer said: “He was going long in the race with Yuki Tsunoda, trying to kind of overcut Charles Leclerc and Liam Lawson. They all would have come out very close together.

“He would have come out ahead of Leclerc, which would have allowed him to also jump Tsunoda, [if he had a faster pit stop] and be the first car behind Liam Lawson. This would have made a big difference to Norris on the day as well, because the McLaren had the pace without a DRS train ahead to clear Lawson on much fresher tyres.

“Tsunoda tried and couldn’t make it. But with Norris’ pace, it looks set that he probably would have been able to pass Lawson as well and then catch up towards Antonelli.

“Probably it would have been a fifth-place finish, possibly even better on a miraculous day, but at least fifth place for Lando. That’s four points down the pan, for a pit stop loss again. Really tough stuff for Lando Norris.”