Lando Norris believes his McLaren team is a "long way off" the pace of its Formula 1 rivals in Azerbaijan after a muted practice performance.
In Baku, Norris' team-mate Oscar Piastri was fifth fastest, half a second behind pacesetter Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, and a similar distance away from Red Bull's Sergio Perez and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.
Norris only managed 17th after not setting a representative soft-tyre lap at the end of the session.
And while it is unwise to read too much into Friday practice times, with fuel loads and engine modes two crucial unknown variables, Norris couldn't hide his feeling that McLaren was behind the curve given how much he and Piastri already had to push their MCL38.
"We're quite a long way off. I'm having to push way too much to try and get a lap time out of it, clearly," a dejected Norris told F1 TV.
"I think where Oscar was is kind of more where we are. If we nail it, we're just about there, but I'm sure the [competitors] are not even close to nailing it yet.
"We have quite a lot to find, honestly, compared to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. They're all very similar, and then there's a good three, four tenths gap back to us. So, a lot of work for us to do."
Asked if he was surprised at McLaren's practice deficit given it has been the car to beat in recent months, he replied: "There have been plenty of circuits we've not been quick. People just love to believe that we're the best everywhere, but we're not.
"We've been doing a very good job so far, a better job than other teams, but we've always known the Ferraris are very quick here. With this kind of track conditions, Mercedes is going to be very quick.
"The car's still not bad. I'm sure we can still get a lap time out of it, but we're not as clearly ahead as we have been on the races."
Norris said the extremely low-grip conditions in Baku, which has led to slower practice times than last year and several drivers going off the track, are likely playing a part in McLaren's struggles to get up to speed.
"It's just very slidey out there, you know? We perform well at the higher grip circuits and the track is way off, not even close to where we were last year. So we're just finding it difficult at the minute, but we'll work hard tonight."
When asked for his opinion, Piastri seemed less worried about some of the "big laps" that rivals were putting on the board.
"I think it's been a decent day," said the Australian. "It's a bit hard to know at the moment, with the track evolving so much still, but our pace seems in the ballpark.
"I would say Ferrari looked pretty strong. Red Bull look quick, and Mercedes as well. At the moment anyone in the top four teams looks looked good.
"Our long run seemed quite competitive, which is good, but some people are putting down some big laps, and if you hook it up it really makes a big difference. So that's going to be the name of the game tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Jacques Villeneuve has been left baffled by McLaren’s decision not to clearly define its position over fully backing Norris’s title challenge.
The Woking-based team came into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix saying they would prioritise Norris’ championship bid at the expense of his team-mate Piastri.
However, the team’s ‘papaya rules’ of engagement is less clear after team boss Andrea Stella said it was a term for hard but fair racing expectations.
Stella also reemphasises that the team has “the luxury of having two number one, very competitive drivers”, implying that they are stopping short of making Norris the priority.
And when quizzed on the approach, Sky Sports F1 pundit Villeneuve said: "I guess it starts with papaya. That doesn't sound very tough, does it?
"I mean, I don't want to be demeaning, I'm trying to find the right words, but I find it a little bit pathetic.
"This is F1. It's the pinnacle. If I was a McLaren fan, I would be upset. Do they really want to win? Do they care? It doesn't sound like they want to win. You know, it's beautiful, but that's not F1, you are here to win. That's all that matters.
"Lando got the better of Piastri for the first half of the season. He's the one with a chance to win. You play by that rule.
"I really fail to understand this concept of, 'This is how we work, it's beautiful, we're much happier to finish second than to win'. Somehow, it's weird.”
