Having missed a big opportunity to significantly cut down Max Verstappen’s championship lead in Monza, Lando Norris would have been hoping for a perfect Zandvoort-like weekend in Baku. However, the Briton was left massively disappointed after getting eliminated from the first part of qualifying on Saturday with a starting grid position of P17 in Sunday’s race.
It all went wrong for Norris during his final lap in Q1 when he encountered a yellow flag in the final sector before the start-finish straight due to a slow-moving Esteban Ocon with a rear left puncture.
While the yellow flag only lasted for a few seconds it was enough to ruin Norris’ lap, who had to ease off the throttle and abandon his final run. However, F1 expert Cameron, in a recent video on his YouTube channel, wondered why Norris was so quick to get off the throttle because the yellow flag only lasted momentarily.
Lando Norris after Qualifying:
“Lap was easily good enough, just a yellow flag so I had to back off.
I hope there’s plenty of chances, but I’m not expecting so, and there’s a lot of cars behind who are very low downforce, which will be pretty much impossible to overtake.” pic.twitter.com/aU7YyExhTB— McLaren News | (@McLarenF1_News) September 14, 2024
“Why is Lando Norris so quick to jump out of the accelerator pedal? Why? I don’t understand”, Cameron said in frustration. “This is a non-rhetorical question, one that I am asking so to on the succeeding set of corners why is Lando so out of shape… It’s as if the yellow flag just completely permeates his psyche and ruins any mental fortitude that he has left.”
He also explained that Norris didn’t have to slow down until he drove up to the yellow flag section. If he had done so, the track would already have turned green by that time. However, Cameron also noted that it was the FIA’s fault for triggering the yellow flag unnecessarily, a sentiment shared by the McLaren team.
Even Norris was visibly and understandably disappointed with the qualifying result as his McLaren had the pace to get on the front row of the grid as his teammate Oscar Piastri managed to do. Heading into the race on Sunday, Norris finds himself in a horrible situation with regards to his championship challenge.
Is Charles Leclerc now a threat to Norris in the championship standings?
When asked about his chances in the race tomorrow, Norris didn’t sound very optimistic about making quick progress in the race. “I don’t even think it’s as easy as that honestly. Following is pretty much impossible around here and overtaking is a lot worse than what everyone thinks. So, I hope I am wrong [tomorrow].”
Someone needs to remind the F1 media that Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz are all closer to Lando Norris in the points (and in better form), than Lando Norris is to Max Verstappen.
This might be the most forced ‘championship battle’ of all time.
— Ferrari News (@FanaticsFerrari) September 14, 2024
This setback could really prove to be costly for Norris in his championship bid. Not only could this allow Verstappen to increase his lead in the championship once again, but Leclerc — who is on pole — could also get very close to Norris as he is not far behind in the drivers’ standings.
Leclerc is only 24 points behind the Briton and has a very good chance of winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which could lead to Norris losing second place if he can’t get into the points-paying positions by the chequered flag. Even his teammate, who is 44 points behind him and starting from the front row, could close the gap on him significantly.
