Lando Norris was adamant he could 'do no more' despite missing an open goal in the F1 drivers' championship battle following a shocking weekend for McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
After Piastri crashed out in the final part of qualifying to line up ninth on the Baku Street Circuit grid, Norris could only finish two places ahead in seventh.
Worse followed for Piastri when he crashed again at Turn 5 on the opening lap of the race, but with Norris stuck in DRS trains on several occasions, rendering overtaking almost impossible, and with a slow pit stop also costing him dear, he took the chequered flag in the position in which he started.
Despite the possibility of taking a considerable slice out of Piastri's 31-point lead going into the race, the Briton emerged from it still staring at a 25-point deficit. There are, however, still 199 up for grabs.
Asked as to whether he felt like he had spurned another missed opportunity, speaking to Sky Sports F1, Norris said: "Everyone says that. I did the best I could yesterday, and I did the best I could today.
"The opportunities are there every weekend. Every race I didn't win was an opportunity missed.
"Of course, today, I wanted more. Seventh was not a good result, but I couldn't do anything more today. It was lost yesterday because of going out a bit early [after Piastri's crash in qualifying], and not doing the best lap.
"Maybe I could have gained a couple of positions [on the grid], but I don't think it would have changed anything today. It's just impossible to overtake.
"I look back on yesterday more than anything today. I thought the pace was all right today when it needed to be. I did a long stint on the medium.
"Could things have been a little better? Yes. Do I think anything would have changed? probably not."
With hindsight always a wonderful thing, Norris stated that if he could replay certain situations in qualifying, he "certainly would change some things".
He added: "But we're doing the best we can every weekend.
"It's hard to be perfect in the world of Formula 1. I'm trying to work on things, and could I have done some things better? Yeah.
"It's not without trying, or doing everything I can. I'll just continue doing what I'm doing, but I'm always trying to do better."
Also interesting:
WATCH: Verstappen blows title fight wide open after Piastri crash nightmare
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they dissect the Azerbaijan Grand Prix!
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!