Norris rues Saudi crash, eyes lucky break on Sunday

After a heavy qualifying crash in Jeddah, Lando Norris is hoping luck and strategy can revive his fading podium chances.

Lando Norris admitted he’s feeling disappointed and doubtful about his chances of fighting for the podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after crashing out during qualifying.

The McLaren driver hit the wall hard in Q3 after running wide at Turn 4 and losing control over the kerb. Though he was taken to the medical center for precautionary checks, he walked away without injuries. Still, the crash meant he didn’t set a lap time in the final session and will start 10th on the grid.

“Honestly, I’m just really disappointed with how the day ended,” Norris said. “I need to move on and focus on tomorrow. I’ll talk with my engineers tonight and see what we can come up with. The car is quick, that’s the silver lining.”

Over the team radio, Norris was heard calling himself a “f***ing idiot”—a moment of raw emotion he’s not backing away from.

“I stand by it,” he admitted. “I should’ve been fighting for pole, and instead I made a mistake I shouldn’t have. Max was strong—no surprise there—but we could’ve been in that battle. I pushed too much and paid the price.”

While Norris was clearly frustrated with himself, he acknowledged the team now has extra work to do before race day.

“I don’t even fully know what went wrong yet—it was just a mistake. The car felt good, I was confident. That’s maybe the most frustrating part. I let myself down, and the team too. They’ve got a long night ahead because of me.”

Despite the setback, Norris is trying to stay positive heading into Sunday’s race, even though he knows overtaking around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit won’t be easy.

“I’ve made things harder for everyone, but that’s racing. Mistakes happen. I’ll look for the positives and hope we can have a strong race tomorrow.”

Norris’ teammate, Oscar Piastri, narrowly missed out on pole, losing out to Max Verstappen by just 0.01 seconds. George Russell was also less than a tenth away from the top three, underscoring just how tight the field is at the front.

With margins that small, and passing opportunities limited, Norris isn’t getting his hopes up too high for a miracle charge through the field.

“I’ll talk things through with the team, apologise, and we’ll try to come up with a solid plan. But we’ll need a bit of luck tomorrow. It’s incredibly hard to overtake here, so I’m not expecting magic.”

“If we can climb into the top five or six, I’d be happy with that.”

He also admitted that expectations need to be kept in check.

“Oscar wasn’t on pole and our pace wasn’t miles ahead of Max or George. Catching them tomorrow is probably unrealistic. But fighting for the top five? That’s a goal.”

McLaren boss Zak Brown was quick to support his driver after the incident.

“I told him to move on—it’s done,” Brown said. “Let’s focus on the race now. It’ll likely be a one-stop, but we could see Safety Cars, so anything’s possible.”

“Our car’s quick, and Lando’s definitely faster than his qualifying position suggests. With the right strategy, he can still make something happen.”

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Norris rues Saudi crash, eyes lucky break on Sunday
Norris rues Saudi crash, eyes lucky break on Sunday