McLaren’s Lando Norris came into the Saudi Arabian GP weekend looking to bounce back after a disappointing Bahrain GP last weekend, when he not only lost out on the win to his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri but also finished behind second-placed George Russell. With the MCL39 being as quick as it has been this season, the Briton had a brilliant chance to make amends and secure pole position this weekend.
However, that hope faded away after just five corners into his first flying effort during the top-10 shootout on Saturday. A snap of oversteer on the lethal kerbs at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit meant he was catapulted into the barriers, bringing out a Red Flag and ending his fight for pole.
This means that Norris will start from P10, which will be a mighty blow to his championship dreams, especially considering Piastri will start from P2 and reigning world champion Max Verstappen will start from pole. What will further hamper Norris’ chances of pulling a recovery drive is that the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is incredibly hard to overtake at.
Since the inaugural race in 2021, the average rate of overtaking on the track has only gone down. But, McLaren CEO Zak Brown is still confident that his driver can put in a recovery drive with the help of the racing gods.
“It will probably be a one-stop race, but the high likelihood of Safety Cars around here. So just focus on the race, do the best we can, and see if we can get him further up the grid. He’ll certainly be faster than he qualified,” the American explained to Sky Sports F1 after qualifying.
This is the moment that cost Lando Norris a chance at pole position tonight #F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/QvzYSUYrha
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025
However, former F1 strategist and Sky Sports pundit Bernie Collins called out Brown’s bluff. While she does agree that a probable Safety Car could change Norris’ fortunes, the very fact that he could not capitalize on his car’s pace today would be hugely disappointing for the Woking-based team.
“Here, anything could happen in the race, so you’ve got to be ready to take the opportunities, of course. Zak’s selling it well there, but I think they’ll be a little bit disappointed,” she retorted.
Norris came into this season as the favorite to clinch the title and despite leading the standings since the opening Grand Prix, his pattern of ‘losing out’ has threatened his status. Piastri, on the other hand, has transformed himself into the leading driver at McLaren in the last couple of races.
In fact, he goes into the Saudi Arabian GP second in the standings and only three points away from Norris. And with a front-row start alongside Verstappen, the #81 driver could very well assume the championship leader status by the end of the race if Norris cannot fight back. Hence, Norris will have it all to do on Sunday if he wants to limit the damage.
