Norris was bundled out of qualifying at the end of the first segment after aborting his final lap.
The McLaren driver blamed a yellow flag for the slow-moving Pierre Gasly for his elimination, arguing it forced him to abandon his last attempt.
However, 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve disagreed, suggesting his elimination was the result of a mistake of his own making.
As Norris exited Turn 14, an LED panel that carries marshal flag information for drivers near Turn 15 was illuminated yellow. By the time Norris got there, it had been switched off.
The McLaren driver then ran wide at the left-hander once to did get there before slowing as he passed Gasly in the long front straight.
The Alpine driver had tagged the wall half a lap earlier with his left-rear wheel, leaving him with a puncture – behaviour which should be accompanied by a white flag to signify a slow-moving car.
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As he dragged the wounded car back to the pits, Gasly cut across the tarmac section behind the apex at Turn 15, likely triggering the yellow flag from sector marshals.
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“It will be frustrating,” conceded the Villeneuve, who is working as a pundit with Sky Sports in Azerbaijan.
“But also, I don’t remember, I don’t think you have to slow down until the yellow flag, and by the time he reached the post, the yellow flag was off.
“So he did not need to slow down. So that’s a little mistake.
“He also went off, wide, in the last corner, so it’s not even sure his lap time would have been that good.”
Norris, who claimed his lap to that point was good enough for second on the grid, is in the midst of a championship battle with Max Verstappen, who qualified sixth.
The pair are split by 62 points with eight races remaining, the McLaren driver needing to outscore his rival by an average of almost eight points per event.
While noting the poor qualifying result will be a blow for Norris, Villeneuve suggested not all is lost.
“He knows he has a quick car, and he knows the Red Bull will suffer in a straight line with the big wing,” Villeneuve reasoned.
“Max is starting sixth, so he could have an issue at the start, you know, not finish the first lap, not score any points and Lando finishes eighth or seventh, scores a few points.
“It’s not over in the championship battle, whereas if Verstappen was on pole, then it would be a different story.”
While Norris qualified 17th, his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri was second fastest behind Charles Leclerc.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix begins at 21:00 AEST.
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