Mercedes staff believe McLaren made a crucial Lando Norris ‘mistake’ with their strategy in Baku – journalist

McLaren had a woeful time as they registered their worst points haul of the 2025 season on the streets of Baku, with their race strategy being a crucial factor in the reason why Lando Norris was unable to make his way to the front of the pack.

The Woking-based outfit went into the race weekend in Azerbaijan with the hopes of securing a second successive F1 constructors’ championship.

Needing to outscore Ferrari by nine points, whilst not being outscored by Mercedes and Red Bull by 12 and 33 points respectively, McLaren brought home just six points in the Grand Prix thanks to Norris’ seventh-place finish and Oscar Piastri’s DNF on the opening lap.

McLaren’s performance over the weekend was a stark contrast to the championship-leading team we have seen throughout the current campaign.

Piastri showed a completely different side of himself as he looked desperate in the opening stages of the race to rectify his false start at the drop of the lights.

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

McLaren made a ‘mistake’ in starting Lando Norris on the medium tyres whilst F1 rivals started on the hard compound

The championship leaders’ superiority throughout the 2025 season has been owed to their ability to keep on top of tyre temperatures a lot better than their rivals.

McLaren stunned Christian Horner at the British Grand Prix by being able to keep their wet-weather tyres cool during the wet-to-dry race, which saw their opponents suffer.

Speaking on an episode of Formula Schmidt after the conclusion of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, journalist Michael Schmidt identified McLaren’s tyre choice at the beginning of the race as the reason why the team were unable to flex their most successful trait.

After recognising that the tyre wear was uncharacteristically low at Baku, Schmidt said, “That meant no one really had tyre problems, so McLaren couldn’t play to its strength, since the others still had grip all the way to the end.

“In my opinion, and the Mercedes strategists agree, McLaren made a mistake by starting their drivers on the medium tyre instead of the hard. George Russell, who started from P5 and finished second, basically did what we had expected from Norris.

“He began on the hard tyre and then switched to the medium. The advantage is this: if you go from medium to hard, you can’t undercut because the hard tyre needs two laps to come up to speed.

“The other way around, though, an undercut worked, and so did an overcut. Russell waited until lap 39, [Max] Verstappen until lap 40, so they had more flexibility.”

Ralf Schumacher also noticed tyre problems from McLaren during qualifying as they registered their worst performance in the Saturday shoot-out since the 2024 season opener in Bahrain.

The papaya-coloured team were unable to get their tyres into the working window, which led to Piastri’s crash at turn 15 and Norris’ inability to beat Verstappen’s pole position time.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Fans aren’t happy that Oscar Piastri will not be penalised for his false start in Baku at the next race

Piastri was handed a five-second penalty for his false start at the beginning of the race, and it was expected that this would carry over to the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix since he hadn’t served it due to the fact that he crashed out of the race at turn five of the opening lap.

However, it was pointed out that Piastri wouldn’t serve a penalty in Singapore because the punishment was a five-second penalty. The regulations state that penalties are only carried over in cases of multiple or more severe infringements.

The ruling frustrated many fans who were expecting the Australian to be punished for his actions. It was compounded by the fact that Fernando Alonso still had to serve his five-second penalty after he reacted to Piastri’s false start before the drop of the lights.

F1 fans also had their say on Piastri’s crash in Baku, highlighting the fact that he has now welcomed Verstappen into the championship battle after the Dutchman capitalised on McLaren’s poor form to win his second consecutive race.

Verstappen is now 44 points behind Norris in the F1 standings, and if he continues to outperform the McLarens, he could find himself within reach of his fifth consecutive drivers’ title in a matter of races.