Norris defends "f****** idiot" rant after Jeddah F1 quali crash

Lando Norris is standing by his own harsh analysis after he crashed out of qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and called himself a “fucking idiot” for doing so.

Having looked on the pace all weekend despite admitting to lacking confidence heading to the fifth round of the season, Norris’ hopes of hanging on to his championship lead took as big a dent as his McLaren did at Turn 5 of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

He ruled himself out of the running for pole – eventually taken by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – having pushed too hard on his first run in Q3, telling his team over the radio that he was okay before labelling himself a “fucking idiot”.

Asked by Autosport if he stuck by his own evaluation of the incident, Norris replied: “I don't know, what did I say?”

Once he was told, he was bullish about the crash, adding: “Makes sense. Well, yeah, I mean, I agree with it.

Watch: Was This as Magical a Pole as Max in Suzuka? Saudi Arabia GP Qualifying Report

“I should be fighting for pole and especially on a [first fast] lap, I shouldn't be taking any silly risks like I seem to have done. I need to go and review it all, like I said. You know, not a guarantee we would have been on pole, because Max looks like he did a good job.

“Red Bull were quick the whole of qualifying, it wasn't a surprise. So, it would have been nice just to be in that fight. I was doing well until then and feeling comfortable.

“But I mean, it makes sense, I shunted. Again, I'm not going to be proud, I'm not going to be happy. I've let myself down, I've let the team down and the guys have got a big job to do now to fix it all.

“So, yeah, it's the way it is. I agree with what I said, but I still look forward to tomorrow and have to try and make up for today.”

Norris had spoken on Thursday about how he was still struggling to adapt his driving style to suit the MCL39 and that it left him heading to Saudi Arabia lower on confidence than he would have liked.

His demeanour stemmed from a difficult weekend in Bahrain last time out, where he could only qualify sixth, was penalised for a false start and then battled back to finish third and hang on to his slender lead at the head of the drivers’ standings.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

“I don't know what happened, I don't have any time to look into it or see, it's just a mistake I guess. I don't know what I've done, I was pretty comfortable, I was pretty happy until then, the car was strong,” he said.

“I’m disappointed, everyone's in the team a lot trickier for tomorrow and a lot harder because the guys have got a big job tonight to try and fix everything. But it's life, this happens on a rare occasion, so yeah, tough one.

"Got to look at the bright side and hope that we can have a good race tomorrow, I don't think it's going to be an easy one because I don't think it's very easy to overtake around here.

“But we have a strong car, clearly not as good as what we would like because we're not on pole, and Max is first, and George [Russell] is only tenths behind. So it's not like things are plain sailing at the minute, so a big job to try and do tomorrow.

“I'm happier [than in Bahrain] but it's a very different layout, it's a lot grippier. The grip here is incredible. So, I'm happier.

“We've tried to work on a few things, I've had to work a lot on my driving. This has got nothing to do with it, this is just a separate mistake. But the team are doing a good job in trying to understand these things.”