Fans Kill Lando Norris’ Happiness After Fernando Alonso’s Disadvantage Gets Brought to Light

A three-week long break and we’re back! The F1 circus returned to Baku for the Azerbaijan GP and the weekend has started off on an interesting note. These three weeks allowed everyone in the world of Formula 1 to introduce changes. The governing body of the sport did not sit ideal as well. They introduced a completely new weekend format during the first sprint of the season. The first-ever Friday qualifying session was proof of that. The qualifying also proved, if not anybody else, McLaren brought changes with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri making it to Q1 for the first time in the season. In fact, a stat comparing Norris with Fernando Alonso proved what a massive leap the Papaya team has taken. However, the fans were quick to rain on Norris’s parade.

The McLaren Brit went seventh fastest in the qualifying session just behind Fernando Alonso. Norris almost matched Alonso’s pace in the qualifying and was just three-tenths slower.

In fact, as revealed by a source on Twitter, Piastri was on par with Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll. Matching the pace of the second-fastest team on the grid after horrendous first three races is a big jump for McLaren. However, the fans were quick to dismiss the McLaren men’s achievement in the qualifying.

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The fans were quick to point out the leading factor affecting the performance of the AMR23. This factor was enough to slow Alonso and Stroll down enough to make them appear as fast, or as slow if you prefer that, as the MCL60.

Fans are quick to dismiss the incredible qualifying performance of Lando Norris while defending Fernando Alonso

The fans pointed out that the DRS of Alonso and Stroll’s AMR23 wasn’t functional. The drag reduction system, on a track like Baku, gives a massive one-second advantage. A second in the world of Formula 1 is an eternity. Despite the DRS, one-man army of Alonso parked his car in P6 for the race on Sunday. Alonso is showing no signs of slowing down, even at 41, and the fans point out only external factors can slow the Spaniard down.

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Without a shadow of a doubt, fans believe Alonso will be much faster in the race as they defend their champion. It will be interesting to see if the McLaren men can match his speed during the race with DRS.