Lando Norris’ World Championship Hopes Take a Hit After Disappointing Qualifying in Azerbaijan
Lando Norris faced a significant blow to his world championship ambitions after qualifying a disappointing 17th for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Briton, who is in a fierce battle to close the 62-point gap to reigning champion Max Verstappen, needed every possible point with only eight races left in the season.
It was a missed opportunity for Norris, especially as Verstappen struggled with issues in his Red Bull, leaving the Dutchman to start from sixth place on the grid. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured pole position in Baku for the fourth time, adding further frustration for Norris.
The turning point for Norris came when he ran wide at Turn 16, costing him valuable time. To make matters worse, a yellow flag was briefly waved, forcing him to lift off the throttle significantly. At that critical stage of the session, Norris found himself in the drop zone. Many critics argue that a more aggressive approach might have seen him push through despite the warning, but Norris was adamant that safety came first.
“The lap was easily good enough, but there was a yellow flag, so I had to back off,” Norris, 24, explained, maintaining that his decision to ease off was the right one under the circumstances.
As for Sunday’s race, Norris remains realistic about his chances. “I don’t expect anything magical unless strategy comes into play,” he said. “Following is pretty much impossible around here, and overtaking is a lot harder than people think.” For Norris, a quirky safety car or a fortunate twist of fate may be his only hope to secure crucial points or even contend for a win.
What adds to the frustration is the fact that Norris’ McLaren was competitive enough for his teammate, Oscar Piastri, to qualify in second place. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the top three, underscoring the potential of the car that Norris could not capitalize on.
McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, was vocal about his dissatisfaction with the yellow flag situation, stating, “We are discussing with the FIA why the yellow flag was displayed at that moment, which was extremely costly for Lando.”
The FIA later clarified that the yellow flag was indeed warranted, as Alpine driver Esteban Ocon had crashed at Turn 5 and was running on three wheels, prompting the safety warning.
With his qualifying woes behind him, Norris will have to rely on a combination of strategy and perhaps a bit of luck to recover from this setback and keep his championship hopes alive. However, the disappointing result in Baku has undoubtedly made his road to challenging Verstappen for the title even steeper.
