This weekend, the Formula One paddock has made landfall at the Baku City Circuit. So far, Red Bull have drawn first blood, and McLaren are not very confident of repeating their Monaco heroics. In fact, Lando Norris has admitted that the likes of Ferrari, AlphaTauri, and Alpine are way ahead of them.

He said, “I think AlphaTauri, Alpine and McLaren seem very close to each other. Ferrari and Red Bull are way ahead of us. So it won’t be easy. Our main target will be to get to the third stage of qualifying and we’ll see what we can do from there.”

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So far, McLaren seem to be doing a decent job, as Norris was a regular presence in the Top 10. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo featured twice in the Top 10. This just goes to show that the Woking outfit have been steadily improving in the past couple of years.

What can Lando Norris expect from qualifying?

As mentioned before, both Norris and Ricciardo featured in the Top 10 during practice. So, they can expect a top 10 finish for both cars in the best possible scenario. However, Ricciardo has still not been able to match his younger teammate, so there is a chance that he could get knocked out in Q2.

On the other hand, the Australian driver will be determined to not let his teammate get the better of him. This is pretty much a matter of pride for the 31-year-old as he is a lot more experienced than Norris. Considering that the Briton has two podiums already, will probably rub him the wrong way.

On the other hand, it could motivate him to perform better and try to match his partner. Initially, Ricciardo has struggled to get to grips with his MCL35M. However, he has been slowly getting used to the car and will hopefully begin to be more competitive.

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