Rand Norris says he doesn’t want to push his car’s limits, but actually wants to crash, after receiving end-of-session suspension damage during FP2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
31 points away from the championship lead, Norris was pushing the laps with soft tires when he was classified as Turn 4. His steering wheel was locked to the right, and his car suddenly clenched, slapping the outer barrier with the left wheel. The damage was soon, and Britton was raw back in the pit lane to retire from the session.
But despite completing just 7 laps for the session – It was a huge confusing time for the first practice – Norris said the proximity of competition this season provided an incentive to search for restrictions.
“I felt good up until then,” he said. “I would rather have this and find it rather than pushing at all.
“I have to push. That’s tough. I’m against some good people. I have to push and find my limits.”
Not only did the incident leave Norris without any representative time, it also had the opportunity to complete a long-term simulation with Pirelli’s softest C6 tire compound, new to this circuit this season and used on three tracks this year.
“It’s costly, especially here,” he said. “I would have wanted to put some high fuel wraps in, especially with these tires, which is a softer compound compared to last year.
“The truck is very different from last year. It’s a pretty fast, soft compound and I don’t use it often. But it’s what it is. I need to make up for it.”
Norris said he wasn’t the only one struggling with a clean knee in Baku, but his teammate Oscar Piastri lost his shot in a typical fast time, locking up to a tap on the barrier at turn 15 and then on turn 2.
“I’m certainly late to study right now, but that’s a crude session from both my side and Oscar,” Norris said. “He seemed to be having a bit of a struggle with the car, so we’ll see what we can make up for tomorrow.”
The title leader said he felt that despite his sense of having a field-leading performance, he found it the most difficult to extract from his car.
“I think the pace is there. It’s not the easiest to make the most of it at this point,” Piastri said. “That’s probably the main thing. I’ve tried a few things with FP2. I’m sure I’ll look back and see what will change for tomorrow.”
Despite optimism from both sides of the garage, McLaren said he could turn things around on Saturday, and Norris said he expects Paul’s fight and victory to be tough.
“It certainly seems like Ferrari is in it,” he said. “Even though Oscars won, they were easy and easy here last year. I think Ferrari will be quick.
“Red Bull will be faster. They’re never good on Friday, but they’ll wake up to sleep and get faster again. I’m hoping to see a challenge from at least three cars tomorrow.”
