The fallout from McLaren driver Lando Norris in Q1 of the 2024 Baku F1 qualifying was due to a split-second call for a yellow flag to be shown on Esteban Ocon’s damaged Alpine.
The incident eliminated Norris, a 2024 title contender, from Baku on Saturday, qualifying in 17th place and potentially damaging his hopes of overtaking Max Verstappen in this season’s points standings.
After qualifying there was considerable speculation as to whether Norris had actually ignored the yellow flags or whether he had braked too hard when he saw them, but McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said immediately after the session that “the yellow flags were not necessary in the end”.
The FIA confirmed to Motorsport.com that Norris was shown a yellow flag during the brief incident using a digital activation system which activates marker boards and the car’s cockpit lights.
Marshals decided it was necessary due to Ocon’s Alpine approaching a critical section of the Baku track at slow speed – the car had been damaged when he hit the wall exiting Turn 4, the same place Franco Colapinto had crashed in Q1 shortly before.
Ocon was returning to the pits whilst a white flag was waved to warn other drivers of a slow-moving car ahead, but it is understood that given the part of the circuit in which Norris encountered him – just before the high-speed left and right turns at Turns 18 and 19 – the aforementioned marshals decided to issue a yellow flag caution for this particular mini-section.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine A524
Photo credit: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
According to information gathered by Motorsport.com in Baku, the brakes were released as soon as Norris and Ocon continued on and FIA officials were satisfied with the marshals’ actions.
Norris quickly slowed down after the yellow flags came up, then returned to the pits after his engineer Will Joseph informed him that the yellow flags had been shown and that he would not be able to do another lap in Q1.
“It’s a shame, they shouldn’t have done that,” Joseph said afterwards about the yellow flag.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about the incident just after qualifying, Stella said: “The team didn’t say anything about the yellow card because it was given at the last minute.”
“We’ve just seen it on the Tour,” he added, “and it does in fact show up as a yellow so we’re in discussion with the FIA as to why that is, because if it’s just a slower car going offline then you don’t need a yellow flag.”
“I think everyone is doing the best they can, but there were circumstances in this case that ideally should not have happened.
“We paid the price. We’re not giving up and like I said, everybody is doing their best. We accept it, we move forward and we’ll do our best tomorrow to get some good points.”
Stella later said: “I think Rand was just in a place at the wrong time that ended up raising yellow flags that weren’t necessary.”
Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team
Photo credit: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
The question McLaren are asking is how far out of his lane Ocon was when Norris overtook him: the Alpine was well outside on the exit of Turn 17 and neither car had made it onto the blind approach to Turns 18 and 19.
Norris had to abort his flying lap in FP2 after coming across another Alpine, Pierre Gasly, in this section.
Motorsport.com understands that McLaren are still waiting for clarification on the matter from the FIA, but in the drivers’ meeting after FP2, F1 teams were specifically warned to urgently obey the yellow flags at this point.
As for the suggestion that Norris did in fact react to a white flag caution, the presence of a green flag board just after the area where he overtook Ocon confirms that a yellow flag had been displayed.
Under the FIA digital system, white flags are never followed by green flags, and the white flags are simply removed as the cars pass through each marshalling sector.
It is also understood that drivers have asked the FIA whether they could include such a high-speed blind turn in future races in Baku, given the risks and past close calls.
The FIA is said to be open to changing the placement of the barriers on this part of the Baku layout if city authorities agree – something that was also done after the first Jeddah race of 2021.
