Lando Norris not expecting ‘magical’ Azerbaijan GP result after dismal qualifying

Lando Norris does not expect a “magical” Azerbaijan Grand Prix result after the McLaren driver qualified 17th in a major blow to his title hopes.

The 24-year-old was caught out by yellow flags down the long final straight, backing off and being unable to improve his time, meaning he was knocked out of Q1.

Norris arrived in the Land of Fire bidding to turn up the heat on championship leader Max Verstappen, having taken 16 points out of the three-time world champion’s title lead across the last two races.

But the Briton will start 11 places behind his championship rival as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who harbours distant title hopes of his own, claimed pole in Baku for the fourth year in a row.

While the street circuit on the shores of the Caspian Sea is known for its unpredictability, Norris is not expecting a glorious fightback on Sunday.

“We will hope for the best but I don’t expect anything magical unless strategy comes into play,” Norris said.

“I don’t know (what can be done in the race). We will try and go forwards and overtake but it is not as simple as saying it.

“Everything is going to have to be done with strategy because you can’t overtake, there are plenty of cars at the back that take lots of wing off and hope for the best and that makes it impossible to overtake them.

“But the car is quick. I hope that that can come into our hands and at some point I can get clean air but on a street circuit everything gets backed up so much you kind of get forced into a position and you can’t do a lot at times.”

Asked how he reflected on the result in the context of his title challenge, Norris said: “It doesn’t make a difference for me.”

Norris, 62 points behind Red Bull’s Verstappen, had appeared off the pace for most of the weekend – also finishing 17th in second practice on Friday.

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He turned it around to finish third in final practice but the McLaren man was running in the elimination zone in Q1 when he ran wide at the final corner and was greeted by yellow flags due to a slow-moving Esteban Ocon ahead of him.

Norris aborted his lap, heading into the pit lane knowing he was out of qualifying.

“We weren’t really on the back foot. The guy ahead of me crashed and there was a yellow flag, I was feeling good,” Norris said.

“When you have a 2km straight and you have to lift off at the beginning, there is nothing I can do. Of course we are disappointed and frustrated but there is nothing I can change.”

Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri will start from second, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez. A sixth-placed finish for Verstappen, without a win in six races, should have been an opportunity for Norris in the title race.

Instead, it handed the Dutchman breathing room despite again complaining of issues with his Red Bull.

“I still want to do good myself and today was a bad day,” Verstappen said.

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“As soon as I went out in Q1 I felt the car had taken a step back. We made some changes and the car just became unpredictable and difficult because of the changes we made.

“I am a bit disappointed with that. You try to optimise things and make it better but unfortunately I think we just tipped it over the edge.”

Leclerc had no such issues, following his glorious home win for Ferrari at Monza a fortnight ago with another blistering pole in Baku – over three tenths clear of Piastri.

“It is one of my favourite tracks. Everything felt great and it is amazing to be on pole,” said Leclerc, who trails Verstappen by 86 points.

George Russell qualified fifth with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton seventh, while British teenager Ollie Bearman was 11th for Haas on his first full weekend in F1.