In the chaotic Baku qualifying session, Lando Norris missed an opportunity to capitalize on Oscar Piastri’s error, finishing only in seventh place. Starting first on the track during the final run on a slightly damp surface to avoid trouble, Norris paradoxically paved the way for his rivals, suffering a mistake in Turn 15 and making overly cautious decisions.
Missing the chance
When your main championship rival is out of contention due to an error that will force him to start from the fifth row, the goal is to seize the moment and secure at least a top-two lap to maximize points. While Baku often delivers surprises, Norris’s seventh-place finish feels like a missed opportunity.
The British driver, however, does not view his performance as a major missed chance, though he admitted some regret over strategic choices and minor mistakes that significantly impacted his final position.
The first out after Piastri’s crash
Norris was the first driver back on track after the red flag caused by championship rival Oscar Piastri crashing into the wall at Turn 4, having misjudged his braking point while trying to maintain maximum speed on entry.
Clearly, the aim was to set a time first, reducing the risk that a yellow flag might ruin the lap. With roughly three minutes on the clock, a provisional fifth place, and a single set of soft tires available for one flying lap, Norris opted for caution—unlike Max Verstappen, who left the pits second-to-last, ahead only of his teammate.
Opening the way for others
By going out first, Norris effectively “cleared the track” for the other drivers, helping to remove the light rain droplets that had fallen moments earlier. While this explains part of his subdued performance, other factors contributed, including his Turn 15 error—the same corner that had caught out Charles Leclerc just minutes before.
Norris went slightly long, nearly brushing the wall. The mistake cost him crucial tenths of a second, not only in Turn 15 but also in the acceleration onto the next straight, dropping him behind both the Mercedes and the Red Bulls.
Impact on rivals
For example, George Russell, directly behind Norris, gained a small benefit from the draft but still managed fifth place, regretting, like Norris, going out so early. Meanwhile, drivers like Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar, who left the pits later, could only manage sixth and eighth respectively.
Overall, Norris struggled to find grip, ending over a second behind Verstappen, and his sector times were not impressive. He attributed this to leaving the pits first in the final Q3 run and rejected the idea that this was a missed opportunity.
Norris explains
“No, because I did everything I could. If I had won every race, I’d be world champion now. But I didn’t, you see? I went out first, and in the end, it was simply the wrong decision. If everyone else had hit a yellow flag behind me for an off-track moment, you wouldn’t be asking me this,” Norris said in post-qualifying interviews.
“Sometimes it works here, sometimes it doesn’t. We thought it was the best option. It would have been if a few raindrops hadn’t started falling again before the last lap. Going out first was just a mistake. It’s something we’ll learn from, but there’s an opportunity for pole every weekend.”
Grip issues and missed potential
“I simply didn’t have the grip on the final attempt. So yes, I’m disappointed. Of course, I wanted more. It hurts a bit, especially since it’s not normal for us. But I made the error. Maybe I could have gained a couple of positions, but otherwise, the lap wasn’t as good as it should have been. Grip wasn’t there. Here it’s always difficult, especially with the raindrops and figuring out how much to push. If you misjudge the white line, you hit the wall.”
Looking ahead to the race
Starting seventh and ninth, Norris and Piastri will have plenty of work to do to pressure Verstappen on Sunday, given how solid the Dutch driver appeared even in long runs. For Red Bull, Baku was one of the circuits most suited to the RB21, and based on Friday’s feedback, they felt more confident in race pace than qualifying, expecting to find a few tenths to fight at the front.
“I hope it will be a good race, but I don’t think we had the pace to beat Max. He’s simply fast, and he has been all weekend. They could easily win at Monza and again here. I don’t know if we’ll win, but we aim for the podium. There are cars ahead probably out of position, but this isn’t an easy track to overtake.”
Limited practice with full fuel
Due to an FP2 mistake, Norris did not have the opportunity to test the car with a high fuel load. Drivers generally focused on qualifying laps, completing just four or five laps in long runs, but having a reference for race pace would have been valuable, especially on a technical track like Baku.
“Last year Charles was much faster than Oscar, yet Oscar won. I didn’t do any runs with a lot of fuel onboard, so I still have many questions to answer and need to analyze Oscar’s long runs. I have a long night ahead,” Norris added.
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