McLaren blames yellow flag for Lando Norris’ shock Q1 knockout during Azerbaijan GP Qualifying

Lando Norris qualified a disappointing 17th after a promising start to the Azerbaijan GP weekend.

McLaren blames yellow flag for Lando Norris’ shock Q1 knockout during Azerbaijan GP Qualifying

Lando Norris and Andrea Stella (Via: Imago)

Lando Norris emerged as the favorite for defeating Max Verstappen in the driver’s title race. The Brit had been catching the Dutchman at an average of eight points every race weekend, which was enough to guarantee him the championship victory. However, Norris’ qualifying around the street circuit spelled a disaster as he got knocked out in Q1. This urged McLaren‘s Andrea Stella to step in and save the Brit from the allegations he faced by condemning yellow flags as the reason for his elimination.

McLaren was on course to overtake Red Bull at the Azerbaijan GP weekend. The papaya duo had been snubbing away points from the Austrian giant at a rate of knot and were the favorite heading into the race around Baku. However, with the grid set up in the way it is, Red Bull would get another race weekend to defend their lead in the championship, and might even extend it, in relation to the English team.

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Moreover, Lando Norris‘ exit in Q1 acted as a double whammy for the Woking-based outfit.

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Lando was at the wrong place at the wrong time where the yellow flag was displayed unnecessarily.
Andrea Stella said post qualifying

Subsequently, Andrea Stella asserted that on merit, Norris would have been a part of Q3. However, due to the yellow flags in the final sector, the 24-year-old had to slow down and abort his flying run causing his day to end earlier than expected.

Lando Norris keen on making most of the race despite Baku qualifying setback

With a torrid qualifying, the Englishman would have to take a steeper climb to the sharp end of the field than he anticipated. This has led the burden to fall on Norris’ shoulders to save his fainting championship threat and showcase his strengths around the street circuit.

McLaren's Lando Norris (via imago)
Lando Norris (via imago)

The Brit then envisioned a good result while admitting his situation was a little bit frustrating.

I'm still hopeful we can get a good result, the car is still quick. A little bit frustrating but nothing I could do.
Lando Norris said

While the 24-year-old explained that his Q1 elimination was due to him not getting in a second flying run, he admitted that his situation was a bit frustrating. Despite the frustration, he reckoned that he could extract a good result out of the weekend.

On the other hand, though McLaren formulated the papaya rules, these were soon scrapped and the team resorted to Oscar Piastri taking up a second driver role. Anyhow, the Aussie is not expected to fulfill this role as he would start at the front row while his teammate would be starting at the rear of the pack, causing eyebrows to once again rise at McLaren’s handling of the intra-team rivalry.