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Lando Norris Outraged Over “Unfair” Yellow Flag in Baku, Claims It Cost Him a Potential Victory
Lando Norris expresses frustration over 'unjust' yellow flag that 'spoiled my weekend'
In Baku, Lando Norris vocally criticizes the "unjust" yellow flag that "spoiled my weekend," according to Lewis Larkam.
Lando Norris expressed his ongoing disappointment regarding what he perceived as an unjust yellow flag, a factor contributing to his unexpected early departure from the qualifying round at the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The McLaren racer was eliminated from the first qualifying round after he had to slow down on his last crucial lap due to yellow flags being waved for a mishap that included Esteban Ocon from the Alpine team.
Norris delivered a commendable performance, climbing from 15th place at the start to secure a finish higher than his championship competitor Max Verstappen in fourth place. Despite this achievement, he remained frustrated by the missed opportunities, especially after witnessing his teammate Oscar Piastri take the victory.
"Norris expressed dissatisfaction to the press, including Crash.net, following Sunday's race in Baku, stating, 'It wasn't fair.' He added, 'You don't need to be a scientist to figure that out. It's not up to me to make decisions or pass judgment."
"I'm aware that I finished in fourth place today, which isn't terrible, yet there was room for improvement. Oscar demonstrated the potential of what could have been achieved today. It felt unjust. The entire lap was clear of any yellow flags, yet the moment I went by, they decided to wave one."
"Did I veer off course slightly before that point? Absolutely. Could I have still comfortably made it into the top-15? Without a doubt. I'm aware that many believed this would have spoiled my lap, yet despite my detour, I only dropped a few tenths of a second and would have still secured a spot with ease."
"Folks are entitled to their opinions, and I usually take amusement in that, but this situation was beyond my grasp and was unjust. It resulted in a significant loss of points for me in the championship standings and essentially spoiled my weekend. Thus, it's disheartening."
After making a comeback from a delayed pit stop to overtake Verstappen and record the quickest lap, Norris has trimmed down Verstappen's lead in the championship standings by three points. The margin is now 59 points with seven races left to go.
"Norris confessed, "Honestly, I couldn't have wished for much more. A solid beginning, a solid plan. I really wished I could have overtaken Alex sooner; he really made things challenging for me."
"Indeed, I believe it couldn't have gone much better. It surpassed our anticipations leading up to today. Securing fourth place is a fantastic achievement, especially outperforming Max purely based on our speed and strategic planning. It's a positive outcome."
"The vehicle was speeding impressively, which, due to its superior performance, only intensified my frustration about the previous day and the absurdity of that yellow flag."
Norris acknowledged that he anticipated falling behind Verstappen in the championship battle, with pre-race projections from McLaren indicating that he would probably finish in eighth place.
He elaborated, "Securing the eighth position would have satisfied us. Our anticipation was that only the leading four teams would advance. Given that I was in the eighth car, our assumption was that they would outperform the rest."
"I believe I managed to climb to 10th position quite fast, within the first five or six laps. My beginning was strong, especially on the opening lap, despite being on the hard tyre while others were on the medium. It definitely set a positive tone for the rest of the day.
Subsequently, I found myself trailing Alex, with limited options, resulting in Carlos overtaking me. A brief tussle ensued with Max; however, Max's attempt to overtake led to him trailing me for several laps, causing his tyres to overheat, which surprisingly allowed me to compete with him.
"Alex made a pit stop, and that was the turning point for my race. The moment Alex went into the pits, I believe my speed was unmatched on the circuit, particularly on the hard tires right from the start. I was able to build a significant lead and fully unleash the car's capabilities."
"Our aim was to hit eighth place, but with a strong start and a bit of luck, we believed there was potential to achieve higher. Predicting the outcome, however, was challenging."
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