Lando Norris’ title hopes were dealt a huge blow after he suffered a shock elimination from the first part of qualifying as Charles Leclerc took pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the fourth year in a row.
The British driver arrived in the Land of Fire bidding to turn up the heat on championship leader Max Verstappen, having taken 16 points out of the three-time world champion’s title lead across the last two races.
But the 24-year-old said he was caught out by yellow flags down the long final straight, backing off and being unable to improve his time, meaning he will start Sunday’s race from 17th on the grid.
Verstappen, who leads the drivers’ championship by 62 points with eight races remaining, was not imperious, managing only sixth on the grid as Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri claimed second ahead of Carlos Sainz and the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
Norris pits inside the drop zone with no time left to go again - he's out!! 😱
HUGE news for one of the World Championship contenders!!! #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/w3QhV2f34MAdvertisement— Formula 1 (@F1) September 14, 2024
The weekend has been dominated by talk of team orders, with McLaren deciding to prioritise Norris over team-mate Piastri for the remainder of the season.
But the title challenger was unable to deliver on his end of the bargain as the notoriously unpredictable streets of Baku claimed another victim.
It was not plain sailing for leader Verstappen, who complained “I’m nowhere” over the radio during a difficult first session before he posted the fastest time in Q2.
The Dutchman will be disappointed with sixth but will take heart from seeing his main title challenger down at the wrong end of the grid.
Leclerc, who harbours outside championship hopes of his own after victory in Monza a fortnight ago put him 86 points behind Verstappen, had looked quick in every session – despite crashing in first practice on Friday.
The Monegasque loves qualifying here on the shores of the Caspian Sea and he showed that again by finishing over three tenths clear of Piastri.
Leclerc said: “It is one of my favourite tracks. It has not been an easy weekend with the crash in FP1.
“I knew the pace was there. In qualifying in was all about trying to stay as far as possible away from the walls.
“Everything felt great and it is amazing to be on pole”
British driver Oliver Bearman, on his first full weekend in F1, narrowly missed out on reaching the top 10 as he finished 11th in the Haas.
The 19-year-old from Essex, who was parachuted into Sainz’s Ferrari ahead of qualifying at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in March, is deputising for the banned Kevin Magnussen at Haas.
