Stella "puzzled" by stewards decision as Norris crashes out in Q1 in Baku

Not how Lando Norris imagined this Saturday to turn out in Azerbaijan. The British driver made a mistake in Q1, and got eliminated early on. As a result, he will have to start the race from P17 on the grid. Team principal Andrea Stella reacted to Norris' result in Baku, and also to Oscar Piastri finishin in P2.

On his second run, Lando Norris had to pull into the pit lane, without completing his lap. As a result, he was knocked out, as the Briton only finished in P17. According to the Italian team principal however, Norris' mistake exiting Turn 16 is not the one to blame for his early exit on Saturday.

"Then we found the yellow flag. We were discussing at the end of the session with the FIA as to why the yellow flag was displayed, because that was only a slow car going up like with no safety implications. So we are puzzled as to why the yellow flag was displayed," he told F1TV following the session.

On the other hand, Oscar Piastri managed to finish in P2 in Baku, and therefore will start on the first row of the grid on Sunday. "I have to say that come especially Q3, Oscar was able to put all the pieces together, strong performance, only beaten by a specialist at this track, like Leclerc," Stella praised his Australian driver.

Norris' rival for the title, Max Verstappen eventually finished the session in P6 this afternoon.

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