Oscar Piastri in telling act towards Lando Norris after McLaren cop setback
However, it was Norris' crassh that raised eyebrows within the McLaren team. Norris will now start back in 10th position having hit thewall during Saturday's qualifying session. Norris has been facing pressure all season from outside of McLaren with critics suggesting the battle with teammate Piastri is getting to him.
This comes after Piastri was given permission by the McLaren hierarchy to chase the drivers championship without fear, despite one of his biggest rivals being his teammate. Since the Melbourne GP, Piastri won the Chinese GP, finish third in Japan and won in Bahrain.
He sits second on the drivers championship behind Norris and if he can capitalise starting second on the grid in the powerful McLaren car, Piastri could find himself leading the season after Saudi Arabia. This is clearly frustrating the young British star who let loose on the team radio after the crash having labelled himself a "f*****g idiot" on the team radio after crashing.
"Makes sense, I agree with it," Norris said later. "Should be fighting for pole. On first lap in Q3 I shouldn't be taking any silly risks like I seem to have done.
This is the moment that cost Lando Norris a chance at pole position tonight 😮🔽#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/QvzYSUYrha
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025
"I shunted so I'm not going to be proud, I'm not going to be happy. I have let myself down and let the team down. The car was going strong so disappointed. It has made my life and everyone's in the team much harder because everyone has a big job to try and fix everything."
While plenty is being made out about their rivalry on the track, Piastri showed class as he walked by Norris and checked on his teammate after the crash. And while Norris would have been frustrated with his drive, Piastri admitted he was pleased with second on the grid and was confident of going one better come race day.
Oscar Piastri thrilled ahead of race day having admitted he wasn't too disappointed in missing out on pole position. "To be honest, I was pretty happy with it. It wasn't too much more left in that lap. Happy with the job I did," Piastri said.
"We were playing catch-up a little bit through the first part of qualifying and then that last lap felt more and less like the best I could've done. I think Max has done a good job. It's another high-speed circuit for [Red Bull], where they seem to be having a little bit more success - but a good job again.
"Still all to play for tomorrow. I think our pace is good. It's going to be a tough race, and the tyres are a bit softer than last year, so we'll see if that plays to our advantage." Piastri is looking to become the first Australian since Mark Webber in 2010 to lead the drivers championship. However, four-time champ Verstappen will back himself to hold the lead, like he did in Japan for the entire race, and take the lead in the drivers championship.
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