McLaren sought clarity from FIA on Norris ‘costly’ yellow flag issue

McLaren says it communicated with the FIA to understand why a yellow flag was displayed at a crucial moment during Lando Norris' qualifying session in Baku on Saturday.

The unexpected caution cost Norris a spot in Q2 and has left the title contender a lowly P17 on Sunday’s grid, derailing the Briton’s chances of challenging for a race win in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and

Norris was on course to comfortably progressing to Q2 when race control briefly displayed a yellow flag on its trackside marker boards and car cockpit lights in response to Esteban Ocon’s slow moving Alpine approaching Baku’s high-speed Turns 18 and 19.

The Frenchman’s car had previously been covered by a white flag signaling a slow car on the track.

Alerted by the yellow flag situation, Norris immediately backed off, but by the time he reached the caution section, the yellow had been switched off.

With no time to undertake a final run, Norris aborted his lap and returned to the pits which sealed his unfortunate fate.

• Read also: Norris’ shock Q1 exit caused by confusion over yellow flag

Questions later emerged about whether the yellow flag was necessary or if Norris had braked too early. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella was inclined to believe the former.

“The team didn’t say [there was a yellow] because it was displayed last-minute,” Stella explained.

“We checked right now with our tools, and it is actually displayed as a yellow so we are in conversation with the FIA why that happened because a yellow flag is not necessary when there is a car that is just a slow car [that] is offline.

“Everyone tries their best I’m sure but this time there was a situation that ideally shouldn’t have happened.

“We paid the price. We don’t give up, and like I say, everyone is trying their best. We acknowledge that, we move on and we will do our best tomorrow to go and get some good points.

“I think Lando was just at the wrong time in a place in which a yellow flag is displayed that ultimately wasn’t necessary.”

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the session, consultant Jacques Villeneuve wondered why Norris had slowed before reaching the yellow flag zone.

“I don’t think you have to slow down until the yellow flag, and by the time he reached the post, the yellow flag was off,” commented the Canadian.

“So he did not need to slow down. So that’s a little mistake. He also went off, wide, in the last corner, so it’s not even sure his lap time would have been that good.”

While Norris will have his work cut out for him on Sunday afternoon, Villeneuve reckoned that the McLaren driver was still in the running for a good result, depending on how the race of championship leader Max Verstappen unfolds.

“He knows he has a quick car, and he knows the Red Bull will suffer in a straight line with the big wing,” Villeneuve said.

“Max is starting sixth, so he could have an issue at the start, you know, not finish the first lap, not score any points and Lando finishes eighth or seventh, scores a few points.

“It’s not over in the championship battle, whereas if Verstappen was on pole, then it would be a different story.”

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