Lando Norris says McLaren's pace in Thursday's practice sessions at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was "pretty pants" and is not expecting to contend for pole position. Norris was 1.5 seconds slower than pace-setter George Russell in second practice, with the slow-speed 90-degree corners seemingly not suiting McLaren's car.

McLaren have brought a major upgrade package to the car in Baku, including new sidepods, engine cover, diffuser and floor edge, but the new parts have not instantly given them more performance. Norris, who is 106 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, said: "We are miles off. We are up there relative and in the position we expect to be in but we are 1.5 seconds off the pace."

McLaren chief technical officer Rob Marshall says it's "early days" with the eight new items on the car and everything is working as expected. "I think the car is doing what we want it to do. The aero maps seem pretty happy. It's just a matter of dialling the performance in."

Russell topped both practice sessions and expects margins to tighten in qualifying. "It's been a positive first day here in Baku. The car felt competitive over a single lap, and our race pace looks closely matched with McLaren and Red Bull. I'm sure those gaps will tighten even further when we get to qualifying tomorrow."