'Nothing I Could Do' Norris Reacts After Being Knocked Out Of Q1 In Baku
F1
Lando Norris discussed what exactly happened after he was knocked out during the first part of the qualifying session for the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
McLaren Racing F1 driver Lando Norris did not make it inside the top ten in qualifying for the first time in the 2024 season when he was knocked out of Q1 in Azerbaijan.
This might be critical point in the 24-year-old's battle for the Championship title as he needs to close 7,75 points on Max Verstappen on average every single race. While Norris qualified only 17th, the Dutchman is set to start the Grand Prix from P6.
Did McLaren have some problem? Norris went on the final run in Q1 on a scrubbed set of soft compound tires, but he encountered slowly moving Esteban Ocon (who crashed earlier on) on the exit out of turn 16.
Due to yellow flags, he had to slow down, and with 2km straight (1.2 miles approximately) ahead of him, he knew he had no chance to make up for the lost time. As reported by RacingNews365, he said:
"We weren't really on the back foot. Just the guy ahead of me [Ocon] crashed and there was yellow flags. I was feeling good."
"When you have a two kilometres straight and you have to lift at the beginning, of course, there was nothing I could do."
Norris's plan for the Grand Prix on Sunday
Starting from P17, it is obviously going to be a huge challenge to get at least inside the top ten, not to mention catching up with Verstappen. As to what his plan is going to be, he said:
I think everything is going have to be done with strategy, because you can't overtake. There's plenty of cars at the back which just take all the wing off and hope for the best, and that makes it impossible for a lot of cars to overtake them."
"The car is quick, we can hope that that can come into our hands and at some point I can get clean air, but on a street circuit, everything gets backed up so much, you just get forced into a position and you can't do a lot at times."
"We'll hope for the best, but I don't expect anything that's real, unless strategy comes into play."
F1TV commentator Alex Jacques said during a live broadcast that there is historically a 60% chance for a safe car during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Lando Norris will most likely need a safety car, which would help him catch up with the front runners once he clears the midfield runners, so it will be interesting to watch where the 24-year-old can finish and whether he can catch up with Verstappen to minimize the point loss.
Can Norris expect help from Piastri?
After Norris had qualified so far behind (P17), it seemed that there was not much Oscar Piastri (who had qualified in P2) could do for his teammate to help him with his Championship position. The Briton confirmed this with his blunt answer when asked if he could expect help from Piastri:
"No, that would be stupid."
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