It was now time for the much-anticipated F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix race, and qualifying under the humid Jeddah night did not disappoint.
McLaren looked poised to dominate after topping all three practice sessions, but in a stunning late charge, Max Verstappen snatched pole position by just one hundredth of a second from Oscar Piastri. While George Russell impressed with a front-row-worthy effort and Ferrari faltered slightly, Lando Norris’ crash in Q3 brought out a red flag, relegating the Brit to 10th on the grid despite showing strong pace earlier on.
Norris entered the race leading the championship by three points from Piastri, but Verstappen sits comfortably in third, eight points behind.
Could Piastri or Verstappen dethrone Norris at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP?
Pirelli had predicted a likely one-stop strategy, using a mix of hard and medium compounds. However, tyre degradation varied—while the front-running teams managed solid long runs during practice, the midfield outfits struggled to maintain performance.
Most drivers started on medium tyres, though four opted for the hards—among them were Norris, Hadjar, Stroll, and Bortoleto.
It’s lights out in Jeddah
The grid cleared quickly, leaving only the engineers with the tyre blankets in hand. All the drivers had climbed into their cockpits, fully suited and ready for 50 laps of intense, sweltering racing.
The Dutchman led the pack away on the Formation Lap, a familiar sight by now. He had fended off both McLarens at Suzuka just a fortnight earlier—tonight, he faced only one, but Piastri’s bright papaya machine already filled his mirrors as they powered towards Turn 1.
Verstappen launched well off the line and stormed down to Turn 1, squeezing Piastri tightly. The Australian refused to back down and edged ahead, forcing Verstappen to cut across the corner’s apex.
Questions immediately arose over whether Verstappen would need to surrender the position. Antonelli pulled off a similar move moments later but chose to hand the place back to Leclerc without delay.
Collision for Tsunoda and Gasly
Further back, chaos unfolded—Tsunoda and Gasly collided. Gasly’s car sustained terminal damage, ending his race on the spot, while Tsunoda hobbled on, nursing a wounded machine.
The Safety Car promptly emerged, with Verstappen still leading ahead of Piastri and Russell. Replays confirmed it as a classic Lap 1 clash—two into one simply didn’t work.
Doohan brought his Alpine in for hard tyres, joined by Ocon and Bortoleto—possibly committing to a long run to the end. Tsunoda returned to the pits for a lengthy stop as his team assessed the damage, but it soon became clear his race was over.
Meanwhile, Piastri radioed in, insisting Verstappen should hand the lead back after the Turn 1 incident.
Lap 3 saw the Safety Car prepare to peel in at the end of the lap, and race control confirmed the opening-lap clash between Verstappen and Piastri was under investigation
Racing back underway at the F1 Saudi Arabian GP
Verstappen nailed the restart, pulling a solid gap on Piastri, who had Russell and Leclerc right on his gearbox. The trio flirted with a three-wide moment, but both Russell and Leclerc backed out before things got messy.
The stewards then delivered their verdict: a five-second time penalty for Verstappen for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Red Bull and Verstappen argued he’d been given no space by Piastri, but the penalty stood.
DRS had now been enabled, and Verstappen sat just over a second clear of Piastri—enough to keep the McLaren driver out of striking range for the moment.
Hadjar made a clean move on Alonso to take tenth, while the Spaniard had gained three spots at the start. Norris ran eighth at that stage, quietly working his way forward.
With his tyres now switched on, Piastri reeled Verstappen in to within seven-tenths, putting himself in DRS range. Antonelli also picked up DRS as he chased down Leclerc for fourth. Behind them, Norris hounded his former teammate Sainz.
Norris catching up
Piastri held station this time, and the gap stretched back out to just over a second. Verstappen and Piastri had pulled nearly two seconds clear of Russell in third, who struggled to stay in touch.
Norris, meanwhile, dived past Sainz just before Turn 1 to take seventh and set off after Hamilton. The gap between them stood at 1.4 seconds, with Antonelli another 1.7 seconds up the road.
Sainz dropped back from Norris, but the Spaniard had breathing room thanks to his teammate Leclerc, while Hadjar continued to cling to the final points-paying position.
After dropping back slightly, Piastri suddenly closed right back up on Verstappen—just six-tenths separating them. At the same time, Norris made a move on Hamilton and briefly got ahead, but the Ferrari man used DRS to snatch the place back.
The lead battle turned into a game of cat and mouse on Lap 15, with Verstappen again pulling just outside of DRS range.
Norris finally completed the move on Hamilton into Turn 1 and held firm—third time lucky. That put him sixth, though he remained 14.5 seconds adrift of the race leader.
The race began to settle, with no drivers inside the top ten able to use DRS. Norris had 2.9 seconds to bridge to Antonelli ahead, giving him a stretch of clean air to attack into.
Further down, Alonso—now running in 12th—had DRS and looked ready to chase down Lawson for a potential move.
The first pit stops
The pit stop phase began with Bearman diving into the pits, just as Piastri was told over the radio to box on the following lap.
On Lap 20, Piastri came in. He committed to the undercut, but a sluggish 3.4-second stop cost him valuable time. He rejoined behind Hamilton, while Antonelli also opted to pit.
Piastri wasted no time, executing a clean and confident overtake on Hamilton through Turn 22. The question was whether he had effectively inherited the race lead. Verstappen then pitted, and with a five-second penalty to serve, his stationary time totalled 8.3 seconds.
What. A. Move! 😱
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 20, 2025
Oscar Piastri overtakes Lewis Hamilton in a cloud of dust 💨#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/EXn6by2n0I
At that stage, Leclerc led for Ferrari, yet to make his stop. Norris, also still running on his starting set of hard tyres, trailed in second. Piastri slotted into third, followed by Hamilton — who now had Verstappen right on his tail.
Leclerc stayed out, while Hamilton was called in just as Verstappen made a decisive move on him into the final corner, promoting the Dutchman to fourth, 3.7 seconds adrift of Piastri, having been delayed behind the Ferrari.
A Safety Car would have been a welcome gift for Ferrari, as Leclerc’s mediums continued to hold up remarkably well. He was lapping at a similar pace to Norris.
Hamilton had a tidy 2.1-second stop and switched to the hards, rejoining behind Antonelli in eighth. With many drivers opting for offset strategies, the race order hadn’t yet stabilised. Leclerc maintained a 3.2-second advantage over Norris — both yet to pit, one on mediums and the other on hards.
Behind them, Piastri held third and had effectively taken control of the race, steadily extending his margin over Verstappen.
Meanwhile, Alonso attempted a bold move on Bortoleto, and the pair made contact — a particularly notable clash given Alonso manages the Brazilian’s career.
Hadjar, still on his original hard tyres, ran strongly in sixth. Antonelli, having already pitted, sat 1.5 seconds behind but was struggling to make inroads. Stroll and Hulkenberg also remained inside the top ten, both yet to make their stops after starting on hards.
Sainz making moves – Could this mean double points for Williams?
Sainz, meanwhile, had DRS on Hulkenberg as he fought to re-enter the points after his earlier stop. That was the battle for P10, while further back, Doohan and Lawson were locked in a gritty scrap for 14th.
Sainz eventually cleared Hulkenberg, as Leclerc continued on his worn mediums. Norris, still in second, wasn’t making any progress in closing the gap to the Ferrari ahead, who was delivering an impressive stint on the C4 compound.
Verstappen remained 4.6 seconds behind Piastri.
By Lap 35, Piastri had closed to within 2.3 seconds of Norris, but was informed that his team-mate was extending his stint. That placed Piastri in dirty air — a scenario that could impact his tyre life and play a role later on. Norris finally pitted, with a 2.6-second stop.
LAP 35/50
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 20, 2025
A big lock-up for Norris as he heads to the pit lane from the race lead! 💨#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/jUwBw1tv32
Lap 36 marked a key moment, as Piastri inherited the lead. He now led Verstappen by 4.5 seconds, while Russell sat a further six seconds behind with Leclerc chasing him down.
Norris, having rejoined, needed to make up 5.6 seconds to reel in the Ferrari and mount a podium challenge.
A possible F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix podium for Leclerc and Ferrari
Could Leclerc secure Ferrari’s first podium of the season? Utilising DRS, he breezed past Russell. Verstappen, however, was still 7.6 seconds up the road.
Lawson, who had enjoyed a much improved weekend, was hit with a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track during an earlier battle with Doohan.
On Lap 41, Norris caught and passed Russell with ease. However, there was a potential issue — the McLaren driver had been noted for crossing the pit exit line during his stop. A penalty seemed possible, though it remained under review.
The final team orders
Team orders were beginning to shape the final stint. Sainz had backed off to give Albon DRS, helping the Williams driver fend off Hadjar, who was on fresher rubber. Kick Sauber also shuffled their order, with their drivers now occupying P15 and P16.
Fortunately for McLaren, it was later confirmed that there would be no further investigation into Norris’s pit lane exit.
With five laps remaining, Leclerc carved a second out of Verstappen’s lead in one lap. The Ferrari was coming alive again, while Hamilton had closed in on Antonelli in the fight for sixth.
Norris, though just 2.8 seconds behind Leclerc, wasn’t closing the gap quickly enough.
Hadjar still benefitted from DRS on Albon, but Sainz continued to assist his team-mate by keeping him in range. The trio of Albon, Hadjar and Sainz occupied eighth to tenth.
Lawson, flying in P11, looked likely to retain the position despite his time penalty, as Alonso was far adrift.
For a rare moment, Piastri showed signs of frustration. He was stuck behind backmarkers Stroll and Bortoleto and wasn’t impressed by how slowly they were moving aside.
Verstappen took advantage of the traffic, combining it with a rapid lap to slash the gap to three seconds.
Norris, eyeing a last-minute podium charge, brought the focus back to the front. He had reduced the gap to 1.8 seconds, and although it held steady, he was giving everything in an effort to limit his Championship losses.
After recharging, Norris closed the gap to 1.3 seconds. He needed a mighty final lap to get within DRS range of Leclerc.
Up front, Piastri still held a 3.2-second buffer over Verstappen and was cruising towards victory, with only Hulkenberg left to lap.
The final lap
As they began the final lap of the F1 Saudi Arabian GP, Piastri remained behind Hulkenberg, who wisely moved aside and avoided interfering in the Aussie drivers’ race. That left Oscar Piastri to clinch his third win of the season — and for the first time in his career, the lead of the World Championship.
He also became the first driver this year to win from a grid position other than pole.
Verstappen crossed the line 2.8 seconds behind in second. Leclerc held firm to take third — his and Ferrari’s first podium of the season — while Norris came home just 1.092 seconds shy in fourth after a strong recovery from P10.
Russell led Antonelli across the line, followed by Hamilton in sixth. Sainz, Albon, and Hadjar rounded out the top ten of the F1 Saudi Arabian GP Race.
F1 Saudi Arabian GP Race Results
- Oscar Piastri
- Max Verstappen
- Charles Leclerc
- Lando Norris
- George Russell
- Kimi Antonelli
- Lewis Hamilton
- Carlos Sainz
- Alex Albon
- Isack Hadjar
- Liam Lawson
- Fernando Alonso
- Ollie Bearman
- Esteban Ocon
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Lance Stroll
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Jack Doohan
- Yuki Tsunoda (DNF)
- Pierre Gasly (DNF)
