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Max Verstappen secures pole ahead of McLaren at Saudi GP (1:03)
Take a look at the numbers behind Max Verstappen’s triumph during qualifying at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. (1:03)
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Championship leader Lando Norris crashed out of the final session of qualifying at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in another early blow to his title campaign.
The McLaren driver lost control of the rear of his car in Turn 4 and slammed into the barriers on the outside of the 150-mph Turn 5.
The mistake meant he failed to set a time in Q3 and will start the race from tenth position.
He was on a quick lap when he made the mistake after setting the fastest time in Q2 ahead of title rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, who secured first and second on the grid respectively at the end of Q3.
“F—— idiot,” he said McLaren’s over team radio after confirming he was unharmed in the incident.
Asked after the session if his radio comment had summed up his feelings about the accident, Norris said: “It makes sense, I agree with it,” he said. “I should be fighting for pole, and on [my first] Q3 lap I shouldn’t be taking any silly risks like I seemed to have done.
“I will go and review it all like I said. Not a guarantee we would have been on pole as Max did a good job, Red Bull was quick the whole qualifying.
“It wasn’t a surprise, so yeah would have been nice to be in that fight, I was doing well until then and feeling comfortable but it makes sense [what I said], I shunted, you know?
“I’m not going to be proud or happy, I let myself and the team down and the guys have big job to do now to fix it all. It’s the way it is, I agree with what I said. Still, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
1. Max VerstappenRed Bull1:27.2942. Oscar PiastriMcLaren1:27.3043. George RussellMercedes1:27.4074. Charles LeclercFerrari1:27.6705. Kimi AntonelliMercedes1:27.8666. Carlos SainzWilliams1:28.1647. Lewis HamiltonFerrari1:28.2018. Yuki TsunodaRed Bull1:28.2049. Pierre GaslyAlpine1:28.36710. Lando NorrisMcLaren1:27.481**Time set in Q2 before crash
The incident will be another blow to Norris’ fragile championship lead, which teammate Piastri narrowed to just three points with victory in Bahrain last weekend.
In the past four races, Piastri has outscored Norris by 20 points having lost a chunk of points to his teammate with a mistake at the first round in Australia.
Ahead of the Saudi Arabian race weekend, Norris said he had attempted to “reset” following the disappointment of qualifying sixth and finishing third at the last race in Bahrain.
When it was put to Norris that he did not seem as despondent as when he qualified sixth in Bahrain, he added: “No, I’m happier.
“[This track] it’s a very different lay out. It’s a lot grippier, the grip is incredible so I’m happier.
“We have tried to work on a few things, worked a lot on my driving, which has got nothing to do with it, it was a separate mistake. The team are doing a good job to try and understand these things.”
