In a dramatic turn of events during Saturday’s Qualifying for the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, McLaren’s Lando Norris saw his hopes of pole position crushed after a critical error sent him into the barriers during Q3.
The British driver, who had shown strong pace throughout the weekend with McLaren leading the constructors’ championship, made an uncharacteristic mistake at Turn 5 of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The incident brought out red flags and left Norris stranded in P10 for Sunday’s race.
McLaren’s strong F1 Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying derailed
McLaren had topped the timesheets in two of the three practice sessions, with Norris consistently showing front-running pace. The team appeared poised to challenge for pole position, with both Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri demonstrating exceptional speed around the fast-flowing circuit.
However, disaster struck early in Q3 during the F1 Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying, when Norris jumped over the kerb at Turn 5, sending his car into the barriers. The impact, which was fortunately below 18G, ended his qualifying session prematurely and damaged his McLaren.
This is the moment that cost Lando Norris a chance at pole position tonight š®š½#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/QvzYSUYrha
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025
“I’ve let the team down”
A visibly disappointed Norris didn’t mince words when speaking to the media after the session.
“I don’t know what happened. I don’t have any time to look into it or see. Just a mistake, I guess,” Norris admitted. “The car was strong. Disappointed, obviously, I made my life and 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.”
When reminded of his harsh self-criticism over team radio, where he called himself a “f****** idiot,” Norris stood by his assessment.
“Makes sense. I agree with it,” he said candidly. “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.”
“Not a guarantee we would have been on pole because Max looked like he did a good job. Red Bull were quick to hold a qualifying. It wasn’t a surprise. Would have been nice just to be in that fight.”
Norris hopeful for a recovery drive
Starting from P10 on a circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult presents a significant challenge for Norris in Sunday’s race.
“Got to look at the bright side and hope that we can have a good race tomorrow,” he said. “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.”
Despite his frustration, Norris remains optimistic about the car’s performance. “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.”
Norris watched while Verstappen clinched pole
While Norris was left to contemplate what might have been, Max Verstappen delivered a stellar performance during the F1 Saudi Arabian GP Qualifying, to claim his 42nd career pole position. The Dutchman’s perfect lap put him just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Piastri, with George Russell securing third place for Mercedes.
For Norris, Sunday’s race now becomes a test of resilience as he looks to minimise the damage to his championship aspirations.
“I’ve let myself down and let the team down,” he concluded. “The guys have got a big job to do now to fix it all. This is the way it is. I agree with what I said, but I still look forward to tomorrow and have to try and make up for today.”
As the lights go out in Jeddah on Sunday evening, all eyes will be on the British driver to see if he can recover from this setback and salvage valuable points for McLaren in their championship campaign.
