McLaren was up to 10km/h slower than Mercedes on Baku's ultra-long straight, with George Russell outpacing Oscar Piastri by eight-tenths in qualifying and Lando Norris 1.1s slower. The gap stems from multiple factors: McLaren's MCL40 struggles on low-speed circuits like Baku, lacks straight-line efficiency despite aerodynamic upgrades, and uses shorter gear ratios decided at season start. Technical director Neil Houldey admitted they would re-ratio differently if starting over, noting the compromise costs top-end speed on tracks like Monza and Baku.

Team boss Andrea Stella acknowledged McLaren hasn't optimized its Mercedes power unit as well as Mercedes for race conditions, and the aerodynamic drag remains an issue. While upgrades worked throughout the weekend, Baku's corner types didn't favor McLaren's strengths in high-downforce circuits like Hungary and Zandvoert. Russell's superior energy deployment through sector two also contributed to the gap.

McLaren chose not to use its mid-season gear ratio adjustment, prioritizing other developments instead. The performance deficit highlights the compounding factors affecting closely matched teams sharing the same power unit.