Hardware in the spotlight after slow stops
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the squad will act on pitstop hardware after further wheel gun issues hampered Lando Norris at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Norris endured another slow service in Baku — a 4.1s stop — which blunted his bid to climb through the field and compounded a weekend in which outright pace was already at a premium.
Context: a difficult Sunday
With Oscar Piastri eliminated on lap one after a costly lock-up and crash, Norris carried the team's hopes and salvaged seventh place. But the time lost in the pits left him with fewer laps to attack in clean air and less opportunity to convert strategy into track position amid a stubborn DRS train.
Stella's assessment and next steps
Stella's verdict was clear: McLaren must strengthen its pitstop tools and processes to avoid repeat delays. Consistency at the gun is essential as the title race tightens, and marginal losses in the lane can be decisive when overtaking is difficult and tyre peaks are short.
Why it matters
With seven rounds remaining and points at a premium, execution is as critical as raw pace. Clean, repeatable stops could prove the difference between damage limitation and meaningful gains on Sundays where the car is not the class of the field.
