Lando Norris has relinquished the lead of the Formula 1 drivers’ championship after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri takes over after his victory.
Norris looked like the favourite for pole in Jeddah, having topped FP2, FP3 and Q2. However, he made a mistake at the start of his push lap Q3 and crashed out of the session.
That left the Briton 10th on the grid, and he fought back to fourth. It could perhaps have been third, but Norris was held up by Lewis Hamilton after failing to complete an overtake at the first two attempts.
Martin Brundle said Norris produced a classic drive at the season-opening Australian GP as he converted pole in treacherous conditions. Since then, he’s struggled to optimise a rapid but aggressive MCL39.
Qualifying mistakes – one more severe than the other – have cost him at the last two events, and he’s been his own harshest critic. Norris called himself an ‘idiot’ after finding the barriers on Saturday evening.
Lando Norris cuts out drinking at McLaren – it transformed Lewis Hamilton
Speaking to Dutch outlet Viaplay after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Norris said he wouldn’t be taking part in this year’s King’s Day celebrations in the Netherlands. He had a ‘great time’ there in 2024, even though he sustained a minor facial injury.
But this season, Norris feels he ‘can’t afford’ to party. He plans to return home and train instead ahead of the Miami GP at the start of May.
Norris is also ‘proud’ to say that he hasn’t drunk alcohol all year and has realised ‘there’s more to life than drink’. This has echoes of Hamilton’s lifestyle change at Mercedes.
- READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge
In a 2023 interview with Vogue, Hamilton said he cut out drinking in search of the ‘extra one percent’ and was thrilled with the results.
“I’ll suffer [from a hangover] for several days – sometimes it’ll be like three or four days,” he said. “I’ve always been looking for how do you get that extra one percent? As an athlete, that’s what you are always doing.
“I don’t know if I’m going to drink again. Since I’ve stopped drinking, I’ve just been feeling so much better, so much more clarity. I sleep better, I wake up in the morning and I can still get up at 5 a.m.”
Lando Norris has made a brutal realisation just five races into 2025 season
Norris will hope to see the same benefits of Hamilton after making a major off-track sacrifice. This is his first year with title-contending machinery from the outset.
Writing in his column for Formule 1 NL, racing driver Jeroen Bleekemolen said Norris already looks ‘mentally exhausted’. It seems he’s beginning to understand the pressure of being a championship frontrunner.
Last year, he was always an outsider as he tried to chase down Max Verstappen. McLaren have the best car this season, though there’s a dispute as to the scale of their advantage.
Back in the autumn, Norris said he’s stopped gaming during race weekends to improve the quality of his sleep. His commitment can’t be questioned, but many feel he still lacks the necessary ruthless edge.
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