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F1 Today painful for Lando Norris in Baku

F1 Today | Painful moments for Lando Norris and the stewards were busy

14 September at 22:00
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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Lando Norris experienced a nightmare in Azerbaijan. The British driver must maximise almost all the remaining eight Grand Prix weekends to bridge a 62-point gap to Max Verstappen. While the points are handed out on Sunday, the McLaren driver has not given himself the best chance after a mistake in qualifying saw him knocked out in Q1. Here are the biggest news stories from today in Baku.

Norris eliminated from Q1

A big mistake has cost Lando Norris in qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In Q1, he made a mistake exiting Turn 16. As a result, he was eliminated early on in Baku. Norris suffered a severe blow in qualifying at the Baku City Circuit. After the McLaren driver's team principal Andrea Stella finally declared ahead of the weekend that the Briton will receive the support in the form of team orders to defeat Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship, he made a mistake on his second run.

Norris' lap time would have been enough, but he made a small mistake in Sector 2. Then there was a brief yellow flag in the third sector, and that made the McLaren driver return to the pit lane, as he was unable to further improve. See the mistake here.

Norris comments on an "unlucky" and SHOCK Q1 elimination

Although Verstappen could only qualify in P6, Norris' mistake means the chance to close the 62-point gap in the drivers' championship may be over. Speaking to Sky Sports after finishing in P17, the McLaren driver responded to the mistake.

Stella "puzzled" by stewards decision

According to the Italian team principal however, Norris' mistake exiting Turn 16 is not the one to blame for his early exit on Saturday.

"Then we found the yellow flag. We were discussing at the end of the session with the FIA as to why the yellow flag was displayed, because that was only a slow car going up like with no safety implications. So we are puzzled as to why the yellow flag was displayed," he told F1TV following the session. See Stella's full reaction here

Is Red Bull's RB20 still 'a monster'? Verstappen explains

Following the Italian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen did not hold back, as he said Red Bull turned the RB20 into a "monster". In the two weeks leading up to the Azerbaijan GP, the Austrians had an enormous challenge to face to fix their issues. According to the three-time world champion, optimisation entering qualifying was not perfect, but at least the car is not a "monster" anymore.

Disqualification, a hefty fine and a clearance

The stewards were busy after the qualifying session. Pierre Gasly was disqualified from the session and will have to start the race from the back. Williams were given a €5,000 fine for leaving a cooling device on Albon's car and George Russell avoided a penalty.