McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has demanded an explanation from the FIA regarding a yellow flag during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying session. The incident, triggered by Esteban Ocon’s slow-moving car, saw Norris’s promising lap in Q1 disrupted, relegating him to a 17th starting position for the race.
This marks Norris’s first Q1 exit since the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023, casting a shadow over what the Papaya driver will be able to achieve this Sunday.
“Everybody got to do their second laps, and I didn’t. I think it was Ocon. I had to lift,” lamented Norris.
“The lap I was on, I could easily have gone second. It’s frustrating, but nothing I can do.”
He continued:
“It is what it is, but a long race ahead – we have some good tires in the bank. So yeah I’ll try to drive forward and see what we can do tomorrow.”
Stella has now questioned the timing of the yellow flag, which he deemed unnecessary given the nature of Ocon’s driving on the track.
“The bitter element is that the other car is at the back of the grid tomorrow. We were discussing now with the FIA as to why a yellow flag was displayed at that moment in time, which was extremely costly,” Stella explained via Sky Sports F1.
“The team didn’t say it because it was displayed last minute and we checked right now in our tools and it is actually displayed as a yellow, so we were in conversations with the FIA as to why that happened because the yellow flag isn’t necessary when there’s a car just a slow car, it is not on a flying lap.”
The implications of this incident are particularly poignant for McLaren, as team orders have positioned Norris’s teammate, Oscar Piastri, to support his championship run.
In stark contrast to Norris’s struggles, Piastri secured an impressive second place in qualifying. Norris’s main title rival, Max Verstappen, starts from sixth, while Charles Leclerc, a close contender sitting 24 points behind Norris in the standings, secured pole position.
Despite the day’s frustrations, Stella rates his team highly:
“Everyone tried their best I’m sure, this time there was a situation that ideally, and I think by the regulations, shouldn’t have happened. We paid the price, but we don’t give up,” Stella said. “We move on, we will do our best tomorrow to get some good points.”
2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying Results
(Not including Zhou Guanyu’s 20-place grid penalty)
1. Charles Leclerc2. Oscar Piastri3. Carlos Sainz4. Sergio Perez5. George Russell6. Max Verstappen7. Lewis Hamilton8. Fernando Alonso9. Franco Colapinto10. Alex Albon11. Oliver Bearman12. Yuki Tsunoda13. Pierre Gasly14. Nico Hulkenberg15. Lance Stroll16. Daniel Ricciardo17. Lando Norris18. Valtteri Bottas19. Zhou Guanyu20. Esteban Ocon
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