A strong comeback from the team today. Both drivers finish inside the points. 👊#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 pic.twitter.com/PoztBL3gga

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) June 12, 2022

Both McLaren drivers started off the race in different strategies, Lando Norris on the medium tyre compound and teammate Daniel Ricciardo on the hard tyre compound. 

Early stages of the race, Ricciardo kept a good speed behind Norris, and right before the latter's pit stop, he heeded an instruction to stay behind when he had a chance to pass. 

Despite his evident irritation, Norris accepted the judgement, and the two McLarens crossed the line P8 and P9.

Speaking after the race, Norris explains, "I think it's quite simple, There was one lap just before I boxed that Daniel could have overtaken me, and didn't. I think he was told just to defend to [Pierre] Gasly pretty much until I boxed, but I boxed the next lap."

He adds, "So there was one lap he stayed behind me, and I guess the return favour for him just not overtaking me was for me not to overtake him. I could have done, I was alongside into Turn 1. And it was a tough decision whether to really do it or not. My pace on the hard was quite a bit stronger."

He continues, "I went with what we decided as a team and stuck with that. He just had the luck of the VSC pitstop, and he came out on the medium at the end. So I just would have thought he had a bit more pace and could attack Fernando much better. As a team, I think we just did a good job today, we did what we wanted, which was to finish in the points."

Norris added that he will speak with the team about how the race went, pointing out Ricciardo had not made any sacrifices early in the race.

He concludes, "Honestly, if I finished eighth or ninth today, it's not the end of the world, it doesn't change too much. We just want to finish as high as possible. I think just understanding the difference of the situations we were in, it was one lap, Daniel just stayed behind me until I boxed. And I don't think that one lap would have changed anything. He still would have been probably behind Fernando, and I still would have been behind, it's just he got the VSC pitstop. So I think just racing for a normal position at the end. He wasn't there, or behind me or whatever, or in a different position, because of what we did earlier in the race. We thought that would help me, but it didn't. And therefore at the end of the race, there was nothing to gain or lose between us."