Lando Norris does not see a missed chance as Max Verstappen claims pole in Baku

Lando Norris denied that he had missed an opportunity by qualifying only seventh after title rival Oscar Piastri had crashed out of a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying.

In an extraordinary session which featured a record total of six red flags and lasted almost two hours, Max Verstappen clinched a sixth pole of the season by delivering a flawless lap at the end.

The Dutchman delivered superbly in windy and slippery conditions where Norris could not, with the British driver qualifying a whopping 1.122 seconds off the pole pace.

That was after Piastri, who leads Norris by 31 points in the championship standings, had opened the door to his team-mate and title challenger by crashing into the barriers in Q3 to qualify only ninth.

Asked if it was a chance missed, Norris said: “No, because I still did everything I could.”

Pushed on the fact that there was a chance to line up a distance ahead of his title rival, he added: “If I won every race, I could be world champion by now, but I didn’t.

“In the tricky conditions, I went out first and it was just the wrong decision to make in the end.

“If everyone else got a yellow flag behind because someone else went off behind me, you wouldn’t be asking me this question.

“Sometimes it goes your way around here, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Baku lived up to its “City of Winds” moniker and gusts of up to 15mph added to the challenge of one of the most difficult tracks on the calendar.

Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto, Oliver Bearman, Charles Leclerc and Piastri all hit the barriers to trigger red flags.

Spots of rain fell as the final session began to add to the chaos. Carlos Sainz was the provisional pole-sitter before Piastri’s crash and only four-time champion Verstappen could string it together to beat the Williams driver.

“I wish everyone could understand how difficult it was with the wind,” Norris added.

“I don’t think we will have the pace to beat Max. I think he’s just going to be fast.

“They could easily win at Monza, they could easily win again here. I’m not sure about the win, but we’ll be trying to get on the podium.”

Liam Lawson will start a career-best third for Racing Bulls ahead of Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

There was bitter disappointment for Ferrari, who had looked pole contenders throughout the weekend. Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in Q2 and lines up 12th while Leclerc – bidding for a fifth successive pole in Baku – hit the wall at the start of Q3 to finish 10th.

Piastri careered heavily into the barriers at turn three, walking away unhurt but causing major damage to his car.

“I’m obviously disappointed with how I performed,” Piastri said.

“There was a bit of rain around, yes. I don’t know if that contributed. I don’t know if I got a gust of wind. I don’t know, I’m never one to blame it on something other than myself.”