What caused McLaren to lag behind Mercedes on the straights in Baku?

When the time gaps between two closely matched teams utilizing the same power unit are so pronounced, multiple factors typically contribute, as was evident in Azerbaijan.

Firstly, Baku is not McLaren's favored circuit. The MCL40 has inherited a trend from its predecessors, struggling in low-speed corners, which dominate the 6km Baku layout. McLaren's strength in high downforce, demonstrated with victories in Hungary and Zandvoort, and an almost win for Norris in Madrid, proved ineffective here.

Additionally, McLaren's aerodynamic inefficiency on straights was highlighted, even with a range of upgrades aimed at enhancing downforce across various corner types. "The upgrades performed well throughout the weekend; we gained some lap time," stated team principal Andrea Stella. "Yet, we didn't fully realize the benefits of the upgrades as our car generally struggles in these types of corners, necessitating a more significant adjustment to see a difference in Baku."

While it's important not to overlook Russell's strong performance, it still doesn't clarify the eight-tenths gap. McLaren believes its understanding of the Mercedes power unit and its collaboration with Mercedes HPP has improved since the season's start, but Stella admitted that the team hadn't optimized its power unit for the race as effectively as in qualifying "and we incurred a cost during the race".

GPS traces provided by GP-Tempo reveal McLaren's shorter gearing in comparison to Mercedes. In their fastest qualifying laps, Piastri (orange trace) shifted up significantly earlier than Russell (teal)

A significant factor behind the top-speed shortfall is the gear ratios chosen at the start of the season. The MCL40 features shorter gearing than the Mercedes, resulting in a loss of top-end speed on circuits like Monza and Baku.

"If we had the chance to redo it, I believe we would adjust the ratios to align more closely with Mercedes," McLaren's technical director Neil Houldey remarked earlier this summer. "There are performance gains we could achieve because of the shorter ratios. We end up shifting less into lower gears around corners, particularly on restarts, and so forth.

"However, when it comes to high-speed performance, you’d likely prefer what other teams have. So, it's a matter of compromises in both directions. These small differences in lap times accumulate to impact overall performance."

McLaren chose not to use its one opportunity for a mid-season gearing change, opting instead to allocate resources to other areas.

"It's quite clear that there isn't a single reason," Stella noted. "We've been transparent about needing to enhance the aerodynamic drag of the car. Simultaneously, there are factors related to our ratios that require reevaluation to ensure we are appropriately geared for circuits demanding these high speeds.

"Furthermore, when we analyze data alongside MGP, we recognize that our power unit was not fully optimized. While we managed to extract nearly all available performance during qualifying, there are aspects we couldn't optimize, and we faced consequences in the race."

Lando Norris was collateral damage in Franco Colapinto's Turn 1 clash with Pierre Gasly

As for Norris, who had been showing strong form throughout the summer, his challenging weekend compared to the improving Piastri stemmed from specific issues. The team identified a power deficit in qualifying, suspected to be linked to a fuel injection problem, which re-emerged during the grand prix, while Norris faced difficulties with pace on the medium tires.

"We occasionally observed similar issues during the race, but they weren't as consistent as in qualifying," Stella elaborated. "There is certainly a significant opportunity regarding fuel injection, which we also noticed on Oscar's car during the race.

"On top of that, Lando was overtaken by Verstappen, who had superior pace. Lando struggled somewhat on the medium tires. However, credit to Oscar, who managed to keep Verstappen behind. For Lando, we faced challenges with power unit deployment.

"Additionally, Lando had some inconsistencies in his driving; when he was overtaken by Hamilton, he experienced a lock-up and made a few errors that allowed cars behind to close in. Once they're within striking distance, we struggle to defend, which ties back to the issue of top speed."

Norris expressed frustration after being an unintended victim of Alpine's Franco Colapinto colliding with his teammate Pierre Gasly. However, the British driver contributed to his own difficulties by going off at Turn 1 just before the safety car, costing him three positions and placing him in a precarious position on the restart.

"I would say this was one of the most challenging events Lando has faced throughout 2026," Stella concluded. "It's something we need to reflect on, focusing on areas for improvement. However, I believe most of the opportunities lie within the team and the car, as we need to provide our drivers with a vehicle that is both more capable and consistently predictable."

Oscar Piastri suffered a monumental lock-up trying to fend off Isack Hadjar

Piastri also experienced a lock-up at Turn 1 later in the race, which cost him a potential podium and saw him finish in 13th, summing up a weekend void of points for the Woking team due to a series of minor issues, execution missteps, and performance limitations.

"We encountered issues and made mistakes, but we also faced some fundamental limitations of our package on this type of circuit," Stella concluded.

"We lacked speed in the corners, and primarily, we were not fast enough on the straights.

"This consistently placed our drivers in vulnerable positions, forcing them to focus on defending rather than strategizing for race progression."