Lando Norris was quick to criticise his mistake that took him from fighting for pole to hitting the wall in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP.
The weekend had been incredibly impressive for McLaren yet again throughout Friday and Saturday. Topping the time sheets from one session to the next. It was clear that the papaya machinery would be fighting, once again, for the top spot.
However, Lando Norris’ qualifying session came to an abrupt end in Q3 when the Brit hit the wall in the winding sections from turn four to six. Around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, qualifying has become increasingly important with the close walls making it difficult for overtaking.
The crash left Norris unharmed, but he will start down in tenth for the Grand Prix. Which poses a challenge to the McLaren driver. He admitted it was just a mistake, not caused by any issues in the MCL39.
He said, “Just a mistake, I guess. I was pretty comfortable. I was pretty happy until then. The car was strong.” But Norris couldn’t hide his disappointment with the crash, “I’m disappointed, obviously. I made my life, everyone’s in the team a lot trickier for tomorrow and a lot harder because the guys have got a big job tonight to try and fix everything.”
Harsh critic
Since finding himself at the front of the field consistently in 2024, Lando Norris has become his own biggest critic. Especially as being a championship contender in grid as close as 2024 and 2025 means nothing less than perfection will win you a title.
He suffered slightly in Bahrain. Where his final Q3 lap fell short and he started the race down in sixth. Where Jeddah’s problem came from Norris pushing the car too far.
He was hard on himself when talking to media, “Should be fighting for pole. Especially on a key one lap. I shouldn’t be taking any silly risks like I seem to have done.”
“I shunted to be honest. Again, I’m not going to be proud. I’m not going to be happy. I’ve let myself down and let the team down. The guys have got a big job to do now to fix it all. This is the way it is.”
On the Brit’s radio after the crash he called him self a ‘fucking idiot’ which was a sentiment he went on to affirm in the sentiment.
Opportunities in the race
With the competitiveness of the current Formula 1 grid, nothing is off the table. However, every race in the 2025 season so far has been won by the polesitter. Which left Norris cautious on what the true potential for the race would be.
Norris expressed his concerns to the media, “I don’t think it’s going to be an easy one because I don’t think it’s very easy to overtake around here. We have a strong car.”
“Clearly not as good as what we would like because we’re not on pole. Max is first and George is only a tenth behind. It’s not like things are plain sailing at the minute. Big job to try and do tomorrow. I’m a bit happy with the handling so far of the car.“
Norris’ hope for the weekend centred around his comfort in the MCL39. He admitted, “The grip here is incredible. I’m happier. We’ve tried to work on a few things and I’ve had to work a lot on my driving.”
