After a string of successes saw Lando Norris overtake Max Verstappen for the world championship, the British driver was given a stark reminder of the scale of the task ahead in qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Eliminated in 17th place in Baku, Norris’ title hopes have taken a serious hit, with the damage done even as his McLaren team were left in a furious slump with the FIA.

Charles Leclerc took pole with an impressive and dominant lap for Ferrari, his fourth in a row at the circuit and his best chance yet to convert one into a maiden victory on the city streets – but it was behind him that the bigger picture for the season was hastily redrawn. Verstappen, who leads Norris by 62 points with eight races to go, looks set to extend his advantage again. That the Dutchman was only sixth is small consolation for an inconsolable Norris, who will start 16th after Esteban Ocon was disqualified from 13th for a fuel flow violation.

Before the weekend, the talk around McLaren was mainly about the proposal to introduce team orders to favour Norris over his teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished second in Baku. But that was overturned in the blink of an eye on Saturday.

That fortunes can change in an instant in Formula 1 was aptly demonstrated on Norris’ final lap in Q3. The team had taken a risk by not putting fresh tyres on Norris in Q1, a questionable decision defended by team boss Andrea Stella, but with the track gaining traction at a tremendous pace, Norris was left vulnerable as lap times improved and his final lap became crucial.

During that crucial tour he was on his way to breakthrough until he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and fell victim to what McLaren convinced was the wrong decision.

Esteban Ocon had hit a wall and was slowly lapped while Norris exited Turn 15, with the Frenchman crawling through the corner on lap 16. Norris was briefly shown a yellow flag on the trackside monitor and was forced to retire, but it only lasted for a moment as the more appropriate white flag for a slow-moving car was shown.

Norris confirmed that he was lifted when he saw the caution. “Everyone else was doing their second lap, and I wasn’t. Just bad luck, that’s all,” he said.

Stella was less optimistic, describing it as “extremely costly” and that his team had taken it up with the FIA. “There was a situation that ideally and according to the rules should not have happened, we paid the price,” he said. “It (the flag) was shown at the last moment, we checked our tools and it was yellow, so we are in discussions with the FIA ​​about why that happened, because the yellow flag is not necessary if it is just a slow car that is offline.”

Any talk won’t change the outcome, nor the challenge Norris faces on Sunday. While a win for Verstappen is unlikely, he can at least count on help from his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who finished fourth ahead of him.

Red Bull expects Perez to support Verstappen’s title fight and should act accordingly if he can help his teammate move up the standings. McLaren, in turn, expects Piastri to play a role in denying the world champion as many points as possible.

At the front, however, Leclerc was imperious and almost certainly untouchable, regardless of Norris’ travails. His final run around a circuit he admits he loves driving was a sight to behold, with him powering a recalcitrant Ferrari through the streets of Baku with a magnificent touch.

Three-tenths behind Piastri and his team-mate Carlos Sainz in third, Leclerc is in position to make it two wins in a row as Norris mounts a crucial charge from last position for his title challenge.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and seventh for Mercedes. Fernando Alonso was eighth for Aston Martin, while Franco Colapinto took an impressive ninth place for Williams.

Alex Albon was incredibly unlucky as his Williams was sent away with a cooling fan still attached to his car, a serious operational error by the team that counts as an unsafe release, which is being investigated. He stopped and removed the fan himself, to continue trying to do a final lap, but had no time to start it and finished 10th.

Britain’s Oliver Bearman showed his composure again to take 11th place for Haas, ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in 14th. The 19-year-old will make his full Formula 1 debut with the team next year but was replacing Kevin Magnussen, who is serving a one-race ban after reaching the maximum penalty points at Monza. Bearman made his Formula 1 debut this season in Saudi Arabia when he replaced Carlos Sainz at Ferrari and took seventh place.

Yuki Tsunoda finished 12th for RB, after his penalty Alpine’s Gasly will be relegated from 13th to the last position on the grid and Lance Stroll will finish 15th for Aston Martin.

Daniel Ricciardo was 16th for RB, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu 18th and 19th for Sauber. Esteban Ocon was 20th for Alpine.