Norris seeking ‘to put a plan in place’ for Jeddah race after Q3 bust

Lando Norris says he’ll regroup with his McLaren engineers and put together a good plan for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after his qualifying session ended in the wall in Q3, leaving him a lowly P10 on Sunday’s grid.

After dominating FP2 and FP3, the McLaren driver was a favorite to challenge for pole in Saturday’s qualifying shootout in Jeddah.

But as the final segment of the session unfolded, a single moment of overzealous ambition at Turn 4 shattered those hopes, leaving Norris to grapple with the wreckage of his mistake – and his race prospects.

Norris, cleared by the medical centre post-session, emerged physically unscathed but emotionally bruised by the costly mishap. His car, however, was less fortunate.

“He said he was fine on the radio, but the car is a little bruised,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown noted. “We will get that fixed, and then go again tomorrow.”

For Norris, though, the damage extended beyond the car’s crumpled bodywork and suspension.

Starting 10th in a race where overtaking is notoriously difficult, his slender three-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship over teammate Oscar Piastri – and eight points over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – is now under serious threat.

The Weight of Disappointment

When pressed about the cause of his crash, Norris was curt, his frustration palpable.

“Nope, move on,” he told Sky Sports F1, unwilling to dwell on the moment that had derailed his weekend.

It was clear the Briton hadn’t yet processed the full impact of his early exit.

“What am I thinking? Yeah, I’ve not put my mind to tomorrow yet,” he admitted. “I’m just disappointed with today, I know I have to look forward to tomorrow.”

The sting of his mistake lingered, but Norris knew he couldn’t afford to wallow.

“I’ll go now and see my engineers and we’ll look ahead to what we can do tomorrow,” he said, his voice carrying a mix of resolve and resignation. “Yeah, we know the car is good, we know the car is quick.”

Crafting a Plan for Redemption

Despite the setback, Norris found solace in the strength of McLaren’s package. The MCL60 had shown blistering pace all weekend, and while pole was out of reach, the car’s potential offered a glimmer of hope.

“I’ll go see my engineers and apologise and see what we can do for tomorrow,” Norris said, his accountability clear. “I’ll try to put a good plan in place, but tomorrow we’re going to need a bit of luck.

“It’s so difficult, it’s almost impossible to overtake around here, so I’m not expecting anything magical,” he cautioned. Yet, he wasn’t without ambition.

“If we can work our way up to the top five, six, I would say I’ll be happy,” he said, setting a realistic target.

The gap to the front-runners – Verstappen, Piastri, and even Mercedes’ George Russell – isn’t insurmountable, but it will require a flawless strategy.

“Oscar wasn’t on pole, our pace was clearly not that much better than Max, even George, not that far away,” Norris noted.

“I think to get close to them is not very realistic, but to try and get to the top five is probably our target.”
McLaren’s strategy will likely hinge on the race’s unpredictability.

• 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Qualifying results

“We will just focus on the race, it will probably be one-stop, but there is a high likelihood of a safety car,” Brown said, hinting at the chaos that could open doors for Norris.

“We will do our best and see if we can get him further up the grid—he’ll certainly be faster than he qualified.”

A safety car, common in Jeddah due to its treacherous walls, could bunch up the field and give Norris a chance to capitalize on his car’s pace.

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