Lando Norris’ world championship hopes suffer a blow as he finishes in 17th place in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Lando Norris finished 17th in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Charles Leclerc is on pole in Baku, with Norris’ teammate Piastri in second
- Norriw was recently promoted to N1 driver by McLaren to boost his title chances
Lando Norris suffered a huge setback when he qualified in a disappointing seventeenth place for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Briton needs all the points he can muster to catch defending champion Max Verstappen, whose lead stands at 62 points with eight races to go.
A missed opportunity, because the Dutchman complained about his Red Bull and will therefore only start from sixth place, while Charles Leclerc is on pole for the fourth time in Baku.
Norris ran wide at Turn 16, losing valuable time, and then took off when a yellow flag briefly flashed. He was in the drop zone at the time and a more ruthless driver would have kept his foot flat on the floor and argued about it later.
Still, Norris, 24, persisted: ‘The lap was definitely good, but then the yellow flag came out so I had to back off.’
Lando Norris left frustrated after finishing 17th in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc (C) took first place in qualifying, with Oscar Piastri (L) in second place and Carlos Sainz (R) in third.
He said of Sunday’s race: ‘I don’t expect miracles unless strategy comes into play.
‘Following is almost impossible here and overtaking is a lot worse than anyone thinks.’
In reality, Norris will likely need a wayward safety car to take victory or score the many points he so desperately needs.
It is scandalous that the McLaren he drives was quick enough to allow his teammate Oscar Piastri to qualify in second place, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished in third.
Norris should never have been in such danger at that point in the session as he was in trouble with the backmarkers.
Norris will be disappointed if he wants to close the gap to leader Max Verstappen
McLaren were not happy afterwards that the yellow flag was waved. Team principal Andrea Stella said: ‘We are now in discussions with the FIA about why the flag was waved at that time, which was extremely costly.’
The FIA announced on Saturday evening that the yellow flag was justified after Alpine’s Esteban Ocon crashed on three wheels at Turn 5.