Lando Norris Reveals McLaren Gamble That Left Him A "Loser" In Azerbaijan GP Qualifying

Lando Norris has conceded a "risk" taken by McLaren during Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying left him as a "loser" after qualifying seventh on the grid.

The Briton had topped both first and final practice sessions at the Baku City Circuit with his team out to secure the Formula 1 constructors' title in the Azeri capital.

But despite strong pace in the opening two sessions of a chaotic qualifying, Norris was unable to mount a challenge for pole in tricky conditions, where he escaped an even worse result late in his best lap.

Norris struggles at end of qualifying chaos

Lando Norris — David Kirouac-Imagn Images

A record six red flag periods delayed qualifying by almost a cumulative hour, with the final stoppage caused by Norris' teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri.

The Australian crashed out at Turn 3 and opened the door for Norris to put himself in a commanding position to close down the 31-point deficit he currently faces on race day.

But a mixture of being first out of the pits and therefore sacrificing track evolution as rain began falling from the sky and then a mistake at Turn 15 that saw him brush the barriers meant he was unable to improve on seventh, ending over a second down on eventual polesitter Max Verstappen.

Asked how much time he lost with his error, Norris told Sky Sports UK: "I don't know. I didn't have a delta so I don't know how much I lost. Two-tenths maybe, so a couple of positions but not the 1.1 seconds to Max."

Pointing to the critical decision to be first on track, he explained: "It was just a mistake from my side, from our side to go out of the pitlane first.

"It couldn't have been [a mistake], if there was a yellow or red flag further back then we could have looked like the heroes and everyone else would have looked like losers, now I look a loser and the others are heroes.

"It's the price you pay sometimes around here and the risk you've got to take but it was still spitting a little bit and anyone that was further back [just had] a bit more grip. It's something we will review and we will try to do better next time."

"The rest of qualifying was good, the pace was strong, I just didn't have the grip on the final run. I am disappointed, of course I wanted more and seventh feels like it hurts a bit because that's not normal for us and I made the mistake so maybe a couple of positions up I could have been."

Look at that starting grid! 👀

Here's how they'll line up for Sunday's race in Baku#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/tUUc0NNNkM
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 20, 2025

On the potential missed opportunity with Piastri in the wall, Norris conceded: "Of course I would have liked a better result in this scenario. We just made the wrong decision. We will punch ourselves about it now but it easily could have gone our way.

"Sometimes you risk it. It is also a risk to go out last and hope the track will be a bit better but risk the yellows and the reds. You win some, you lose some. Not the happiest today but a long race to try and get some points."

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