Formula 1’s 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Review

Formula 1’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix second night race of the season lit up the streets of Jeddah with high-speed drama, fierce rivalries, and a crucial shift in the championship narrative. From Max Verstappen’s razor-thin pole position on Saturday to Oscar Piastri’s commanding race win on Sunday, the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix delivered on all fronts. With tensions rising in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit proved once again why it remains one of the most thrilling venues on the calendar.

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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Qualifying Review

Keep your eyes peeled! 👀

Here are five things to keep an eye on when the five lights go out in Saudi Arabia 👇#F1 #SaudiArabianGP https://t.co/y1PLAvM35Q
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 20, 2025

Max Verstappen claimed a hard-fought pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in a dramatic Saturday night session at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The reigning World Champion delivered a stellar final lap of 1:27.294 to edge out Oscar Piastri by just 0.010s in a tense Q3 showdown.

McLaren looked to be the team to beat heading into qualifying, with both Piastri and teammate Lando Norris showing strong pace through practice. But just moments after Piastri posted the first flying lap of Q3, Norris clipped the kerbs at Turn 5 and crashed into the wall, bringing out a red flag. The incident ended his session prematurely and left him classified tenth without a lap time.

Once the session resumed, the battle for pole intensified. George Russell briefly jumped to P1 before being displaced by Piastri. But Verstappen had the final say, stringing together a near-perfect lap to secure the top spot on Sunday’s grid.

Russell settled for third, just over a tenth behind Verstappen. Charles Leclerc will start fourth for Ferrari, with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli rounding out the top five. Carlos Sainz put in his best qualifying effort of the season with sixth for Williams, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in seventh.

Yuki Tsunoda delivered another strong showing for Red Bull to qualify eighth, while Pierre Gasly put Alpine into ninth. Norris, despite being classified in tenth, was unable to set a time due to his crash.

Top Ten Qualifiers:

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:27.294
2	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	1:27.304
3	George Russell	Mercedes	1:27.407
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:27.670
5	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:27.866
6	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Williams Mercedes	1:27.990
7	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:28.015
8	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:28.109
9	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	1:28.213
10	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	No time

2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Race Review

📻 "Well done everyone" @OscarPiastri secures his third victory of the season! 👇#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/tAArBRWPqA
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 20, 2025

Oscar Piastri claimed his third victory of the season with a composed and commanding drive at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, becoming the new leader in the Drivers’ Championship. Starting second on the grid, Piastri went wheel-to-wheel with Max Verstappen into Turn 1 and made his case firmly—only for Verstappen to cut across the apex and take the lead. The move earned the Red Bull driver a five-second time penalty, which he served during his pit stop.

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That decision ultimately handed the advantage back to Piastri, who had been running a strong pace and remained untroubled once in clean air. From there, the Australian managed the gap and brought home another 25 points for McLaren, finishing 2.8 seconds clear of Verstappen and becoming the first Australian to lead the championship since Mark Webber.

Charles Leclerc completed the podium with a clean drive to third—his first podium of the season. Lando Norris, who started from P10 after crashing in qualifying, recovered to fourth after a spirited drive, but couldn’t close the final gap to Leclerc in the closing laps.

George Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli brought both Mercedes cars home in fifth and sixth, while Lewis Hamilton endured a difficult outing but still secured points in seventh. Williams continued their strong form with Carlos Sainz in eighth and Alex Albon ninth, scoring a valuable double points finish for the team. Isack Hadjar rounded out the top ten, holding off late pressure from Fernando Alonso.

Further back, Liam Lawson crossed the line 11th but was demoted to 12th after a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon followed for Haas, while Nico Hulkenberg led the Kick Sauber pair in 15th ahead of Lance Stroll, Jack Doohan, and Gabriel Bortoleto.

The race saw early drama when Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly collided on the opening lap, triggering a Safety Car. Tsunoda retired shortly after, while Gasly was classified as a DNF. It was a costly moment for both drivers and their teams.

With another confident win under his belt, Piastri now leads the championship standings, holding a 10-point advantage over teammate Norris as the grid turns its attention to Miami.

The top 🔟 is in!

Here are your points scorers from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 👇#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/07tBkbZg3f
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 20, 2025

2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Final Race Classification:

Position	Driver	Team	Time/Gap	Points
1	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	1:21:06.758	25
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	+2.843s	18
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+8.104s	15
4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	+9.196s	12
5	George Russell	Mercedes	+27.236s	10
6	Andrea Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+29.191s	8
7	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+33.880s	6
8	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Williams Mercedes	+35.891s	4
9	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	+36.128s	2
10	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls Honda RBPT	+36.493s	1
11	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	+37.222s	0
12	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls Honda RBPT	+39.251s*	0
13	Oliver Bearman	Haas Ferrari	+41.360s	0
14	Esteban Ocon	Haas Ferrari	+43.505s	0
15	Nico Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber Ferrari	+45.611s	0
16	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	+46.949s	0
17	Jack Doohan	Alpine Renault	+47.339s	0
18	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber Ferrari	+49.122s	0
NC	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	DNF	0
NC	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	DNF	0

Oscar Piastri’s third win of the season has reshuffled the deck in the championship standings, putting McLaren firmly in control as the team to beat in 2025. With Verstappen still in striking distance and Ferrari showing flashes of form, the battle at the top is heating up fast. As the paddock packs up and heads to Miami for the next round, all eyes will be on the high-speed streets of Florida, where the title fight is sure to intensify under the American sun.