Norris suffers costly crash in qualifying for F1 Saudi Arabian GP

Formula 1 championship leader Lando Norris crashed out of qualifying at the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The McLaren driver was on his first push lap during Q3 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, but hit the wall and brought his qualifying session to an early end.  

Norris mounted the kerb while navigating the fast section between turns four, five and six. The bump unsettled the McLaren and Norris hit the wall, damaging his front wing and the suspension on the left-hand side of the car.  

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The five-time grand prix winner came to a stop on track after hitting the wall and the session was red flagged with eight and half minutes remaining.

At the time of the red flag, only Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri had set a time in the third session in qualifying.  

The crash means Norris will not qualify higher than 10th for Sunday's grand prix, with his championship rivals Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set to start the race higher up.

Norris was understandably upset with the crash and was quoted on team radio saying “fucking idiot” after his race engineer Will Joseph checked in on him following the crash. 

It was the first incident in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, despite the yellow flags coming out in Q1 when Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto spun off. Several other drivers had close calls with the wall on the exit of the 27-corner circuit’s final turn.