Lando Norris has developed a ‘reputation’ in the F1 paddock that will desperately worry McLaren

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McLaren driver Lando Norris will come away from the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix wondering if he could have done more to increase his chances of winning the championship this year.

Lando Norris scored six points in Baku, finishing where he started in seventh after a chaotic qualifying session.

Considering how strong McLaren have been this season, the idea of Norris being the team’s best performer at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix sounds ludicrous.

However, a nightmare 24 hours for Oscar Piastri saw him crash in qualifying, jump the start of Sunday’s race, before hitting the barriers again on the opening lap of the race.

Piastri was suddenly in danger of seeing his 31-point lead in the drivers’ championship disintegrate, but Norris failed to capitalise.

Ralf Schumacher believes Norris sees ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ following his Baku exploits, particularly because Max Verstappen recorded his fourth victory of the season.

McLaren are in serious danger of turning what looked like a two-horse race for the championship into a three-way battle with this generation’s most ruthless driver.

It’s created a feeling within the paddock about Norris that he and McLaren will be desperate for him to quickly shake off.

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

Lando Norris now developing ‘reputation’ in the Formula 1 paddock for falling short

A report from ESPN has shared about the nine-time race winner as he attempts to become Britain’s latest Formula 1 world champion.

When Piastri brought out the sixth and final red flag of qualifying in Baku, Norris was the first driver to take to the track.

It meant that he was far less likely to be caught out by any more mistakes by other drivers, even if the track was going to continue developing.

However, Norris lost nine-tenths compared to Verstappen’s pole lap before kissing the barriers at turn 15.

The McLaren driver failed to make any progress in the race, with Jolyon Palmer criticising Norris for getting caught out at the safety car restart, which cost him a position to Charles Leclerc, before he got stuck behind Yuki Tsunoda after a slow pit stop.

The report from ESPN states that Norris’ performance in Baku ‘did little to downplay the reputation the Englishman has gained for seeming to fall short when the heat is on’.

McLaren can get away with Norris failing to capitalise on others’ mistakes when the constructors’ championship is all but wrapped up.

But future seasons might not be as straightforward for Andrea Stella’s team, which will concern McLaren’s bosses going forward.

READ MORE: Five worst moments of Lando Norris’ F1 career including Imola heartbreak and dramatic Spa crash

How Oscar Piastri reacted in the paddock to his first lap Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash

On the other side of the coin, Piastri’s performance in Baku needs to be examined.

Piastri has drawn comparisons to Kimi Raikkonen, given his seemingly unshakable demeanour.

However, his crash in Sunday’s race highlighted that he can act rashly when trying to make up for previous errors.

What the broadcast didn’t show was that after Piastri’s false start, he made two overtakes before his collision with the barrier, showing how quickly he wanted to make up for lost time.

The report from ESPN suggested that Piastri was ‘very calm’ despite his first pointless outing of the season.

The Australian was in a ‘relatively upbeat mood’ when answering questions from the media, and while it will only be when racing returns at the Singapore Grand Prix that we’ll know for sure that he’s put the incident behind him, it’s a very different approach to his McLaren teammate.