An uneasy silence after a violent impact – Lando Norris, the leader of the 2025 Formula One World Championship heading into Jeddah, was uncharacteristically tight-lipped after a high-speed crash during qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. In a moment that has since gone viral, he brushed off a post-race interview with a curt “No. Move on” when asked to explain what had gone wrong.
That was all he would offer. But in the garage and behind closed doors, the incident opened the door to much deeper concerns within McLaren – not just about the raw speed of the car, but its fragility when pushed to the limit.
While on paper it was a case of driver error, the story of Norris’ crash is far more complex. The team management, in particular Team Principal Andrea Stella, didn’t point the finger at the 25-year-old Briton.
Instead, Stella used his traditional media debrief to take some of the blame himself, acknowledging deeper design problems with the MCL39. As he put it: “It’s our responsibility to give Lando a car worthy of his talent.”
A fine line between brilliance and disaster
Turn 4 on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit has become notorious for its high-speed complexity. Drivers approach it at full throttle before barrelling into Turn 5, a tight, blind right-hander framed by unforgiving walls. It was here that Norris’ session came to an abrupt end. Having taken a fraction too much speed into the complex, he clipped the inside kerb and lost control – something that had almost happened to Max Verstappen just minutes earlier.
The Red Bull star radioed his team to report contact with the same curb, but kept his car on track. Norris, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.
The difference may seem marginal – perhaps a single kilometre per hour – but in a car as close to the line as the McLaren, it’s enough to make all the difference. Stella later explained that the car’s unpredictability at the limit leaves little room for correction. “You have grip and all of a sudden the grip is gone,” he said. “You go one kph faster and the grip disappears. The transition is abrupt.”
It’s not just unsettling, it’s dangerous. Especially on a track like Jeddah, where the margin for error is measured in centimetres, a sudden change in grip level can turn a pole-sitter into a wrecked car in an instant.
Ferrari join the list of Verstappen suitors
The fastest yet most unforgiving car on the grid
The 2025 McLaren MCL39 is fast. Perhaps the fastest overall, if Friday’s long run data and Norris’ previous performances are anything to go by. But there’s a growing sense that the car’s sheer pace comes at a price.
The car behaves brilliantly within a narrow operating window, but if the driver asks for just a touch more – perhaps a brake marker later or a kph more in a corner – the balance shifts abruptly. That’s where it gets tricky.
Stella didn’t mince his words about the team’s role in this.
“We want Lando to be able to push, to find those extra milliseconds without paying a huge price immediately,” he said. He also admitted that part of the problem was due to design changes that improved lap times, but compromised driver feel.
Norris, known for his surgically precise driving style, struggles to read the car at the limit. “From a driver’s point of view,” explains Stella, “you go into the corner a bit faster and suddenly the car does something completely unexpected. Then you’re just a passenger.”
Pressure from within – and from the pit wall
There’s no doubt that internal competition also plays a role. Oscar Piastri has been in sensational form and with Verstappen lurking just behind in the points, Norris knows that every qualifying session counts. That pressure may have played a part in his aggressive approach in Q3.
Interestingly, data from the session shows that Norris was already nine km/h behind Piastri through Turn 4 in Q2, despite the pair being evenly matched for much of the weekend. This gap may have prompted Norris to dig deeper in Q3. With pole position on the line, he rolled the dice. It didn’t pay off.
It’s also worth noting that while Norris only did one hot lap in Q1 and Q2 – thanks to the sheer speed of the car – Piastri and Verstappen opted for two runs in each segment. This may have helped them adapt better to the changing grip levels. A subtle, but potentially crucial factor.
The theory of flexible wings – and a familiar name
What’s behind the MCL39’s razor-thin margin for error? One theory doing the rounds involves the car’s aerodynamic philosophy – specifically its flexible wings. Jos Verstappen even posted a video on social media highlighting the visible flexing of the McLaren’s wings under load. It’s a double-edged sword. More flex means more downforce in the corners without adding drag on the straights. But it also means a more unstable aerodynamic profile, especially at varying speeds.
This theory gains traction when you consider that Rob Marshall, a known specialist in such aerodynamic tricks, joined McLaren from Red Bull in 2024. Red Bull’s past struggles with erratic handling – particularly in the hands of Perez – are well documented. Similar criticism has been levelled at McLaren since Marshall’s arrival.
Verstappen himself alluded to Marshall’s influence when asked about McLaren’s development. “I think he makes a difference there,” he said. “Since he’s been there, it’s very clear.”
A self-fulfilling prophecy – or a systemic flaw?
Some observers have speculated that Norris’s recent comments about self-doubt and pressure could feed into a negative feedback loop. Stella disagrees. “I wouldn’t call it a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he says. “Margins are just insanely low at the moment. In Q2 Lando, Oscar, George and Max were all within a tenth of a second. You try to find a little bit more in Q3 and sometimes you go over the limit.”
Confidence, Stella explained, is crucial – but so is a car that responds intuitively. “You have to be ahead of the car. If you wait for the car to react, you’re already too late.”
Even seasoned champions like Lewis Hamilton have commented on how challenging the 2025 cars are to drive, he says. And with the grid tighter than ever, drivers have no choice but to push the limits every time.
Vasseur tells Hamilton to improve, stop the complaints with a veiled threat of the sack
Turning the page: The race beckons
Despite the severe impact, McLaren emerged from the crash with some relief. The chassis was undamaged, and the team didn’t bring any upgrades to Jeddah, meaning the spare parts are available and identical in specification. According to Stella, it’s “just a matter of replacing the damaged parts with spares”. That’s fortunate, considering how punishing such crashes can be on modern F1 machinery.
As for Norris, he’s already setting expectations for a comeback – albeit a modest one.
“I’m not expecting miracles,” he said. “If we can work our way into the top five or six, I’ll be happy. McLaren’s long-running pace suggests that’s within reach. But overtaking Verstappen, Piastri, Russell or Leclerc on a track with limited overtaking opportunities won’t be easy.”
Still, Stella sees the moment not as a crisis, but as a test. “You might have five minutes of disappointment – and then you figure out how to turn it around,” he said. “That’s what I saw with Lando. And with the whole team.”
Horner rejects Verstappen’s manager claims
Lessons from the Edge
Lando Norris’ crash in Jeddah wasn’t just a setback in the standings. It was a wake-up call for McLaren – a reminder that being fast isn’t enough if the car becomes unpredictable when it matters most. The team has built a car capable of winning a championship. But to stay in the hunt, they’ll need to ensure that speed is matched by stability.
As the season progresses and the battle at the top tightens, every lap, every corner and every fraction of a second will count. And unless McLaren can tame the MCL39’s wild side, they may find that their greatest asset – the car’s raw pace – could be their undoing.
MORE F1 NEWS – Report: The exact technical issue Norris is experiencing
What a difference just six weeks makes in F1. As the season opener loomed into sight in Melbourne, Netbet online bookmakers had Lando Norris the strong favourite to claim this seasons’ F1 drivers’ championship at decimal 2.62. Max Verstappen was second favourite but out at 4.33 which Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc just behind at 5.5. These numbers are the multiple of say a £1 bet and express the rate of return someone betting on various drivers would receive.
Lewis Hamilton was next with odds of 6.5 whilst Oscar Piastri in the team the bookies believed would ace the constructors’ a huge 8.0 opportunity. Now Piastri is the bookies favourite having silenced doubters that he lacks the experience of his team mate as the Australian appears to have conquered his issues with understanding tyre wear.
Piastri had a tough start to the year having been out qualified by his team mate in Melbourne, he pushed him hard from the off until late in the race, a driver error coming into the final corners complex saw the Australian beach his car on the wet grass. Oscar recovered to claim a single point for tenth place, but was already almost an entire weekend being the F1 title favourite, whose odds came in even further as F1 headed to China…. READ MORE ON THIS STORY
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
