No podium for Lando Norris despite setting DHL Fastest Lap on heroic charge through the field

The first triple-header of the 2025 Formula 1 season concluded with a hot and sweaty contest on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia. The oppressive confines of the concrete walls in Jeddah came as a stark contrast to the sprawling layout of the Bahrain International Circuit a week earlier.

Having already messed up in qualifying on the previous weekend in Bahrain, McLaren pilot Lando Norris crashed into the wall in Jeddah and was obliged to start the race from tenth on the grid. While he was busy working his way through the field, team-mate Oscar Piastri was slugging it out with Max Verstappen for victory at the front.

After a first long stint on hard, Norris switched to medium and had third-placed Charles Leclerc in his sights. Norris steadily inched closer to the Ferrari driver – 17, 15, 13 seconds – the gap was getting ever smaller. Norris eventually set the DHL fastest race lap with a time of 1:31.778 minutes on lap 41.

"I'm happy with my comeback today," said Norris with some satisfaction despite the disappointment of missing out on the Top Three. "I've been very confident in my races. It's my qualifying, it's my Saturdays, which are not good enough." This is borne out by his tally of three DHL Fastest Race Laps in the five races contested so far.