Lando Norris explained he “kind of looks like the loser” after a crucial “mistake” made by himself and his McLaren team in qualifying for the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
A chaotic qualifying session at the Baku City Circuit saw the red flag brought out an unprecedented six times, truncating the afternoon and stretching proceedings to nearly two hours.
Both Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri made it through to Q3, but after Charles Leclerc crashed early in the 12 minute final part, Piastri also crashed heavily, ending his involvement.
Norris was the first to go out once the green flag was waved to resume action, but on what was his only opportunity to set a time, made a key error at Turn 15.
Taking a little too much speed into the corner, Norris brushed the wall and lost time, and as a consequence, will line-up seventh, just two places ahead of Piastri.
Speaking after qualifying, Norris believed that whilst the misdemeanour cost him time, it was not the whole 1.1 seconds that he ended-up behind Verstappen.
“I didn’t have a delta so I don’t know how much I lost. Two tenths maybe, so a couple of positions, but not 1.1 seconds to Max,” he insisted.
Norris and McLaren the wrong side of ‘heroes and losers’ margin in Baku
Max Verstappen held back once cars were allowed to resume the track, and that paid off, as he threaded his way around the circuit without issue to secure pole position.
Likewise for Liam Lawson, who set a brilliant lap to secure third place, just behind Carlos Sainz, whose banker lap help him take second place.
Norris reflected that the decision, which was made collectively, to go out first after the green flag was perhaps a significant additional error that cost him the chance to qualify significantly ahead of Piastri, giving him a golden opportunity to dent the Australian’s championship lead.
“I think it was mistake from my side, from our side, to go out the pit lane first,” he said.
“It couldn’t have been – if there was a yellow flag further back or a red, we would have looked like the heroes and everyone else would have looked like losers,” he explained.
“Now I kind of look like the loser and them heroes, but it’s the price you pay sometimes around here and the risks you’ve got to take.
“But it was still spitting a little bit, so I think anyone who was further back, just more grip. Just a decision that didn’t work out in the end. Something we’ll review and try to do better next time.”
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri accepts responsibility for ‘disappointing’ F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying crash
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