Lando Norris didn’t just crash into the barriers in Saudi Arabia—he sent McLaren’s paddock crew and the Netflix crew into chaos. While fans waited anxiously for updates, those closest to the young Brit had no idea where he’d gone, sparking a frantic, and at times comical, search that reveals the unseen drama behind the Formula 1 curtain.
Rear-entry crashes like Norris experienced in Jeddah are rare in modern F1. But as Kym Illman described on his YouTube channel, the FIA medical team was immediately alerted with all the key details: “the car number, which driver was involved, what turn the incident was at, whether the car’s on the left or right, and importantly, if the driver is moving.” With the crash visible on the live feed in the medical car, help was dispatched—but confusion was just beginning in the McLaren garage.
Illman, who was in the paddock during the incident, decided to trail Norris’ entourage—his trainer, PR officer, and security—toward the nearest medical centre near the swipe gates. “They were under the impression he was taken there,” he noted. “As were the Netflix crew that also tagged along.” But that assumption proved incorrect.
The real medical centre in Jeddah is stationed far from the paddock—at Turn 22—and that distance triggered a delay that no one anticipated. With tension mounting, Norris’ temporary trainer Tom headed into the race control building more than 20 minutes after the crash, to figure out what had happened.
It wasn’t until about 9:30 p.m. that Zak Brown, Tom, and a PR representative gave up on the original plan and headed back to the paddock gates.
And that’s when the driver himself casually reappeared.
“Lando was being driven back on a golf buggy,” Illman recounted. He arrived without a pass, simply bypassed the swipe gates and was greeted by Zak Brown. The two were “smiling and laughing” as they strolled back to the hospitality suite. Minutes later, Norris was seen in the media pen answering questions like business as usual.
This is the moment that cost Lando Norris a chance at pole position tonight 😮🔽#F1#SaudiArabianGPpic.twitter.com/QvzYSUYrha
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025
But not everything was quite as breezy. “Lando was sore that night,” Illman said, though his trainer Tom—standing in for regular coach Jon Malvern—gave him a massage that helped ease the stiffness. By race day, the soreness had faded.
What the fans saw was just the tail end of a crash. But what played out off-camera was a mini-drama of miscommunication, missed assumptions, and a paddock left guessing. It’s a rare glimpse at how even the most structured teams can be caught off-guard—and a reminder that in Formula 1, control can slip through your fingers in a heartbeat.
Related: The Intense Chain Reaction That Unfolds Seconds After an F1 Crash
Lando Norris didn’t just crash into the barriers in Saudi Arabia—he sent McLaren’s paddock crew and the Netflix crew into chaos. While fans waited anxiously for updates, those closest to the young Brit had no idea where he’d gone, sparking a frantic, and at times comical, search that reveals the unseen drama behind the Formula 1 curtain.
Rear-entry crashes like Norris experienced in Jeddah are rare in modern F1. But as Kym Illman described on his YouTube channel, the FIA medical team was immediately alerted with all the key details: “the car number, which driver was involved, what turn the incident was at, whether the car’s on the left or right, and importantly, if the driver is moving.” With the crash visible on the live feed in the medical car, help was dispatched—but confusion was just beginning in the McLaren garage.
Illman, who was in the paddock during the incident, decided to trail Norris’ entourage—his trainer, PR officer, and security—toward the nearest medical centre near the swipe gates. “They were under the impression he was taken there,” he noted. “As were the Netflix crew that also tagged along.” But that assumption proved incorrect.
The real medical centre in Jeddah is stationed far from the paddock—at Turn 22—and that distance triggered a delay that no one anticipated. With tension mounting, Norris’ temporary trainer Tom headed into the race control building more than 20 minutes after the crash, to figure out what had happened.
It wasn’t until about 9:30 p.m. that Zak Brown, Tom, and a PR representative gave up on the original plan and headed back to the paddock gates.
And that’s when the driver himself casually reappeared.
“Lando was being driven back on a golf buggy,” Illman recounted. He arrived without a pass, simply bypassed the swipe gates and was greeted by Zak Brown. The two were “smiling and laughing” as they strolled back to the hospitality suite. Minutes later, Norris was seen in the media pen answering questions like business as usual.
This is the moment that cost Lando Norris a chance at pole position tonight 😮🔽#F1#SaudiArabianGPpic.twitter.com/QvzYSUYrha
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 19, 2025
But not everything was quite as breezy. “Lando was sore that night,” Illman said, though his trainer Tom—standing in for regular coach Jon Malvern—gave him a massage that helped ease the stiffness. By race day, the soreness had faded.
What the fans saw was just the tail end of a crash. But what played out off-camera was a mini-drama of miscommunication, missed assumptions, and a paddock left guessing. It’s a rare glimpse at how even the most structured teams can be caught off-guard—and a reminder that in Formula 1, control can slip through your fingers in a heartbeat.
Related: The Intense Chain Reaction That Unfolds Seconds After an F1 Crash
