Norris's surprising reaction to his big Saudi F1 crash
Though he'd branded himself a "f***ing idiot", Lando Norris is less dismayed by his Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying crash than you may think
Until he was reminded of his exact wording by reporters, Formula 1 world championship leader Lando Norris had forgotten he’d called himself a “f***ing idiot” over McLaren team radio just after his Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying crash.
Once reminded of it, he admitted it was a good summary of his view of himself in the moment.
“Makes sense. I agree with it. I should be fighting for pole and I shouldn’t be taking any silly risks like I seem to have done.”
But there were laughs from Norris as he said it, his mood over consigning himself to 10th on the Jeddah grid with a destructive blunder on his first Q3 flying lap a clear contrast to the depths of despair he was in over struggling to sixth on the Sakhir grid a week ago.
When that contrast was put to him, Norris agreed he was “happier” in Saudi Arabia regardless of the qualifying crash.
Last week he didn’t fully understand why he was four tenths of a second and five places behind team-mate and main title rival Oscar Piastri on the Bahrain grid.
This week he’s been quick. His qualifying crash was a relatively small error on corner entry that had substantial consequences because of the nature of the Jeddah layout, kerbs and walls. In Norris’s mind, it’s therefore easier to deal with than him just not being fast enough.
“We’ve tried to work on a few things, I’ve tried to work on my driving. This has got nothing to do with it, this is just a separate mistake,” he said.
