F1 / NEWS & CONTEXT

McLaren to examine Norris’s power-unit deployment concern

Andrea Stella says Norris struggled with power-unit deployment in Azerbaijan. McLaren plans to examine the issue before the next race.

GPBeat · Newsroom29 Sept 2026, 14:41 · 2 min

Mercedes was markedly quicker than McLaren on Baku’s straights during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, despite the two teams using Mercedes engines. In qualifying, George Russell was eight tenths of a second ahead of Oscar Piastri and 1.1 seconds ahead of Lando Norris. Autosport reports that Russell deployed energy more effectively through sector two and reached a top speed up to 10km/h higher than Piastri’s on the long straight. Those differences do not, by themselves, account for the entire lap-time gap.

Autosport also identifies McLaren’s struggles in Baku’s slow corners and its relative lack of aerodynamic efficiency on the straights. The MCL40’s shorter gearing than the works Mercedes car cost it some top-end speed, although McLaren technical director Neil Houldey has said the ratios offer performance opportunities elsewhere. McLaren chose not to make a mid-season gearing change.

Team principal Andrea Stella said McLaren’s upgrades had improved the car, but were not extensive enough to overcome its weakness in Baku’s slow corners. He said the team extracted nearly all it could from the power unit in qualifying, while some aspects of its race use were not optimised. Norris also had a qualifying power deficit that Autosport says was thought to be linked to fuel injection. Stella said the problem appeared intermittently in the race, including on Piastri’s car.

The pace deficit was not the only reason McLaren left Baku without a point. Piastri finished 13th after locking up at Turn 1, while Norris lost three places when he went off at the same corner before a safety car.

Update

McLaren has made Lando Norris’s power-unit deployment difficulties at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix a high-priority issue to examine before the next race in Malaysia, RacingNews365 reports. Team principal Andrea Stella told media, including the outlet, that Norris had also been inconsistent in his driving.

Stella said most opportunities to improve lay with McLaren and its car. He wants the team to give its drivers a car that is more predictable and easier to race.

Sources 02

SOURCEWhy McLaren was so much slower than Mercedes on Baku's straightsAutosport · Source date as found: 2026-09-28
SOURCEMcLaren point to 'high priority' focus after Lando Norris concernRacingNews365 English · Source date as found: 2026-09-29

Source context

Autosport’s 28 September analysis supplies the speed comparisons and Stella’s comments; it also cites remarks Houldey made earlier in the summer.

RacingNews365 English reported Stella’s remarks to media after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Claims and supporting evidence 12

Autosport reports that McLaren and Mercedes used Mercedes engines, yet the gap between their cars was unusually large on Baku's straights. In qualifying, it describes Russell as eight tenths of a second ahead of Piastri and Norris as 1.1 seconds behind Russell.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Mercedes–McLaren comparison at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying These are Autosport's reported comparisons, not a breakdown of what caused each driver's entire lap-time deficit.

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Autosport attributes part of Russell's advantage over Piastri to better energy deployment in sector two and reports that Russell's top speed on Baku's long straight was up to 10 km/h higher.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Qualifying speed and energy deployment 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying The speed difference is an upper value reported for the qualifying comparison, not a constant speed gap or a separately quantified cause of the full lap-time difference.

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Autosport identifies McLaren's relative weakness in Baku's low-speed corners and aerodynamic efficiency on the straights as contributing factors. Team boss Andrea Stella said upgrades improved the car but were not extensive enough to overcome its weakness in those corners at Baku.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Circuit fit and aerodynamics 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend The aerodynamic assessment is Autosport's analysis, supplemented by Stella's explanation; neither passage measures its share of the overall deficit.

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Autosport reports that McLaren's shorter gearing relative to Mercedes cost top-end speed at Baku and that McLaren chose not to make a mid-season gearing adjustment. McLaren technical director Neil Houldey also described advantages to the shorter ratios, rather than portraying them as an unqualified disadvantage.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Gear-ratio compromise 2026 season and Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend The source does not quantify how much lap time gearing alone cost at Baku; Houldey's remarks are reported by Autosport as having been made earlier in the summer.

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Stella said McLaren had extracted nearly all it could from the power unit in qualifying but had not optimised some aspects for the race, costing performance. He also said drag and gear ratios were relevant: his account does not identify one sole cause.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Stella's distinction between qualifying and race power-unit use 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying and race This is Stella's assessment as quoted by Autosport, not proof that the shared Mercedes engine hardware differed.

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Autosport reports a power deficit on Norris's car in qualifying that it says was believed to be linked to fuel injection. Stella said the problem appeared occasionally, rather than as systematically, in the race and that a fuel-injection issue was occasionally seen on Piastri's car too.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Norris-specific power problem 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying and race Fuel injection is presented as a suspected link, not a confirmed diagnosis. Norris's issue should not be treated as the explanation for Piastri's qualifying gap.

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Autosport reports that McLaren scored no points at Baku and Piastri finished 13th after a Turn 1 lock-up. It also reports that Norris went off at Turn 1 before a safety car, losing three places. These driving and execution factors complicate an account that assigns the race outcome solely to straight-line performance.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Race outcome and countervailing execution factors 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix race The reported incidents support a multi-factor interpretation of the race result; they do not establish how many points McLaren would otherwise have scored.

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According to RacingNews365, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella told media, including the outlet, that Norris and the team struggled with power-unit deployment and that Norris's driving was inconsistent. This is Stella's assessment, not an independently measured technical result.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. McLaren's account of Norris's Azerbaijan Grand Prix After the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix The quoted remarks do not identify a confirmed underlying component fault.

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RacingNews365 reports that McLaren would analyse the concern and treated it as a 'high priority' ahead of the next race. That priority wording appears in the outlet's account rather than in the Stella quotations reproduced in the article.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. McLaren's stated response After the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, ahead of the next race weekend The article does not report a completed investigation or repair.

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Stella said most opportunities for improvement lay with McLaren and the car, which he wanted to make more raceable and predictable for its drivers.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Responsibility for Norris's difficult race After the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix This is Stella's assessment of where improvements can be made, not proof that every difficulty had a single cause.

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RacingNews365 reports that Norris's Azerbaijan Grand Prix ended on lap 36 in a multi-car collision during a safety-car restart.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Norris's race outcome 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix The race outcome is reported by the sole supplied article; no official classification or separate race report was read.

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The outlet's description of a 'fuel injection' concern is more specific than Stella's reproduced reference to difficulty with power-unit deployment. The supplied text does not establish whether those descriptions refer to the same fault.

This source finding must be read within the stated scope and source context. Technical terminology in the sole read account Reporting after the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix This is a distinction within one publication, not a disagreement between independently read media.

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Corrections and updates to this story

29 Sept 2026, 14:41

Updated with a material new development verified through a separate News Made Clear newsroom run.

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.