by Lando Norris is not expecting a “magical” result at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after the McLaren driver only finished 17th on the grid in qualifying, dealing a major blow to his title hopes.
The 24-year-old was caught by yellow flags on the long finishing straight, slowed down and was unable to improve his time, meaning he was eliminated from Q1.
Norris arrived in the Land of Fire intent on increasing the pressure on championship leader Max Verstappen after cutting the three-time world champion’s lead in the title standings by 16 points in the last two races.
However, the Briton will start the race from 16th place, ten places behind his championship rival, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who himself has distant title hopes, took pole position for the fourth time in a row in Baku.
Although the street circuit on the shores of the Caspian Sea is known for its unpredictability, Norris is not expecting a glorious comeback on Sunday.
“We hope for the best, but I don’t expect miracles unless strategy comes into play,” Norris said.
“I don’t know (what is possible in the race). We will try to get ahead and overtake, but it’s not that easy.”
“Everything has to be done strategically because you can’t overtake. There are a lot of cars further back that are pulling a lot off the wing and hoping for the best, and that makes it impossible to overtake them.
“But the car is fast. I hope we can get our hands on it and get some free time at some point, but on a street circuit everything is so congested that you’re forced into a position and sometimes you can’t do much.”
When asked how he viewed the result in the context of his title fight, Norris said: “It makes no difference to me.”
Norris, who is 62 points behind Red Bull’s Verstappen, seemed to be out of form for most of the weekend, finishing only 17th in the second practice session on Friday.
He turned the race around and finished third in the final practice session, but the McLaren man was driving in the elimination zone in Q1 when he went wide at the final corner and was greeted with yellow flags for a slow Esteban Ocon ahead of him.
Norris aborted his lap and drove into the pit lane, knowing he could no longer take part in qualifying.
“We weren’t really behind. The guy in front of me crashed and there was a yellow flag, I felt good,” Norris said.
“If you have a 2 km long straight and have to take off at the beginning, there is nothing I can do.
“Of course we are disappointed and frustrated, but I can’t change anything.”
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella was unhappy with the yellow flag and told Sky Sports: “It was a situation that ideally and in my opinion under the regulations should not have happened. We paid the price for it.”
Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri will start from second place ahead of Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez.
A sixth place for Verstappen, who had not won in six races, should have been a chance for Norris in the title race.
Instead, it gave the Dutchman some breathing room, although he again complained about problems with his Red Bull.
“I still want to do well and today was a bad day,” said Verstappen.
“I already had the feeling in Q1 that the car had taken a step backwards. We made some changes and the car simply became unpredictable and difficult.
“I’m a little disappointed about that. You try to optimize things and make them better, but unfortunately I think we just overdid it.”
Leclerc had no such problems and, after his glorious home win for Ferrari in Monza two weeks ago, was able to take another brilliant pole in Baku – over three tenths ahead of Piastri.
“This is one of my favourite tracks. Everything felt great and it’s incredible to be on pole,” said Leclerc, who is 86 points behind Verstappen.
George Russell qualified fifth, his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton seventh, while British teenager Ollie Bearman finished 11th for Haas on his first full weekend in F1.
