Charles Leclerc on pole as Lando Norris suffers qualifying blow

Lando Norris does not expect a "magical" Azerbaijan Grand Prix result after the McLaren driver qualified 17th in a major blow to his title hopes.

The 24-year-old was caught out by yellow flags down the long final straight, backing off and being unable to improve his time, meaning he was knocked out of Q1.

Norris arrived in the Land of Fire bidding to turn up the heat on championship leader Max Verstappen, having taken 16 points out of the three-time world champion's title lead across the last two races.

But he will start 11 places behind his championship rival as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who harbours distant title hopes of his own, claimed pole in Baku for the fourth year in a row.

While the street circuit on the shores of the Caspian Sea is known for its unpredictability, Norris is not expecting a glorious fightback on Sunday.

"We will hope for the best but I don’t expect anything magical unless strategy comes into play," Norris said.

"I don’t know (what can be done in the race). We will try and go forwards and overtake but it is not as simple as saying it.

"Everything is going to have to be done with strategy because you can’t overtake, there are plenty of cars at the back that take lots of wing off and hope for the best and that makes it impossible to overtake them.

"But the car is quick. I hope that that can come into our hands and at some point I can get clean air but on a street circuit everything gets backed up so much you kind of get forced into a position and you can’t do a lot at times."

Asked how he reflected on the result in the context of his title challenge, Norris said: "It doesn’t make a difference for me."

Norris, 62 points behind Red Bull’s Verstappen, had appeared off the pace for most of the weekend – also