Norris started fifth after a qualifying lock-up and initially gained a position from Isack Hadjar. However, Hadjar recovered the place before Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton also passed the McLaren driver.
Another lock-up dropped Norris behind Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli, leaving the Briton needing to recover during the first Safety Car restart.
The opportunity disappeared when Franco Colapinto failed to make the opening corner and collided with Alpine teammate Gasly. Gasly was subsequently pushed into Norris at Turn 1.
All three drivers retired because of damage sustained in the collision. “At the end of the day, I just got taken out by some drivers that shouldn’t be in F1, to be honest,” Norris said.
Norris was also critical of personal performance and McLaren’s lack of straight-line speed. “I just was slow. I was struggling a lot on the straights. You saw how quickly everyone came past me,” Norris said.
“It was just an impossible race out there for me from that side, straight-line speed, today.”
Norris said McLaren would need to address the problem before the next race. “Hopefully, we get that fixed for next time. Otherwise, I still made the mistake,” Norris said.
The result was Norris’s first retirement since the Monaco Grand Prix and ended a run of eight consecutive points finishes.
The setback came after an improved period for Norris and McLaren, including victories in the Netherlands and Hungary.
McLaren had been challenging Mercedes at the front of the field, but the Baku result exposed weaknesses that could continue affecting performance during the remaining races of the triple-header. “We won two and should have won three of the last four races,” Norris said.
“Plenty of positives, obviously not this weekend. We were not quick enough.”
The Formula One calendar now moves to Malaysia before the field competes under the lights in Singapore.
Norris expects McLaren to face further challenges but believes the Malaysian circuit could suit the car better.
“We’re going to be in for another tough few weekends, I imagine,” Norris said. “Maybe Malaysia is a better one for us.”
–F1/ChannelAfrica–
