Norris slates critics for “talking nonsense” over his Q1 exit in Baku · RaceFans

Lando Norris said those who blamed him for his elimination in the first round of qualifying in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix were “talking nonsense”.

The McLaren driver said he was a victim of circumstances when he had to abandon his final flying lap in Q1 when a yellow flag was briefly shown.

The incident occured as a result of Esteban Ocon hitting a barrier at turn four on his flying lap. The Alpine driver was driving back to the pits at low speed, which meant white flags were being displayed.

However as Norris accelerated out of the final corner and approached Ocon, a yellow flag was briefly shown, then withdrawn. Norris therefore had to back off and abandon his lap.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Baku City Circuit, 2024 — **Analysis: Why McLaren were “puzzled” by the yellow flag that ruined Norris’s qualifying**

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said they asked the FIA why the yellow flag was briefly shown. It was withdrawn shortly before the next driver, Fernando Alonso, arrived.

Speaking after yesterday’s race Norris admitted Stella was “not happy after last night.” He qualified 17th but started two places higher due to penalties.

Norris ran wide at the exit of turn 16 during his lap, but had been on course to improve his previous lap time by around one second. He is certain he would have easily reached Q2 if he hadn’t been forced to back off for the yellow flag and said some people had jumped to the wrong conclusion by accusing him of mistaking a white flag for a yellow one.

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“This was one of the most unfair things that I think has happened in a long time,” Norris told the official F1 channel. “I went off the track, yes, but then there’s the yellow flag and you [viewers] can’t see the flag.

“So everyone was talking about the white flag and all this nonsense. What they can’t see is my dash, which had big yellow lights on. So a lot of people are talking nonsense and stuff like that. But I had to lift and that took away my chances.”

Norris was pleased with his recovery to finish fourth in the race, one place ahead of championship leader Max Verstappen. However he was frustrated to have missed the chance to score a better result as team mate Oscar Piastri won the race from second on the grid.

“We were not happy as a team after last night because we knew we could have had two cars up there. And when you look at where Oscar finished today, we knew we could have had two cars right at the top. And that’s what we love to see.

“So there’s more potential. I don’t think we’re very happy with the weekend because we want perfection. And this weekend was not perfect. But when you look at today and how we executed today, I think everyone should be very happy.”