Round Five of the 2025 F1 season returned to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian GP.
Drama, Controversy, and a New Title Leader Light Up Jeddah
The 2025 Saudi Arabian GP delivered drama from lights out to the chequered flag, with Oscar Piastri taking victory in a race marked by bold overtakes, first-lap chaos, and a penalty that may very well have changed the course of the Championship.
Friday FP1: Gasly Tops the Timesheets
Pierre Gasly surprised in FP1 of the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP weekend, topping the timesheets with a rapid 1:29.239 in hot and humid conditions. The Alpine driver edged out Lando Norris by just seven-thousandths of a second, with Charles Leclerc a further six-hundredths adrift in third.
The hour-long session began at 16:30 local time, with Esteban Ocon leading the field onto the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Most drivers opted for medium tyres initially.
However, FP1 was without drama. Lewis Hamilton and Gasly had close shaves with the unforgiving street circuit barriers.
Oscar Piastri also reported a drink leak in his helmet and later made light contact with the wall, prompting a car check.
Elsewhere, Ollie Bearman locked up his Haas, while Isack Hadjar’s soft-tyre attempt was hindered by traffic.
George Russell briefly held the top spot on the mediums before soft tyre runs reshuffled the order. Norris looked set to finish fastest after a late push, but Gasly completed an outstanding lap to go top.
Behind the leading trio, Piastri slotted into fourth, with Alex Albon impressing in fifth for Williams. Russell took sixth despite complaining of braking issues, while Carlos Sainz placed seventh after a close call with a slow-moving Ferrari.
Hamilton, Verstappen, and Tsunoda rounded out the top ten.
Friday FP2: Norris Rises in Jeddah
Norris ended Friday on top in Jeddah, setting the fastest time in FP2 ahead of teammate Piastri during a session briefly halted following a late crash for Tsunoda.
Building on his strong pace from FP1, Norris immediately set a lap time of 1:29.272 on the medium compound. Piastri was behind him, missing out by just 0.001s in an early display of McLaren’s pace.
The order shifted as soft tyres came into play.
Russell was first to make the switch, lowering the benchmark to a 1:28.973, despite complaining of high-speed bouncing in his W16. As the session progressed, others began to find their rhythm. Sainz, Verstappen, and Piastri each had brief stints at the top until Norris led the way again.
The Briton set a 1:28.340, ending the session with a dominant 1:28.267. That time remained unbeaten as most teams shifted focus to long-run simulations.
Piastri slotted into second, just over a tenth back, with Verstappen third and Leclerc fourth. Sainz continued to look at ease in the Williams, completing the top five ahead of Tsunoda.
However, Tsunoda’s session ended at the barriers at Turn 27 after clipping the inside wall and breaking his suspension. The impact brought out red flags with just minutes remaining, limiting drivers to practice starts as the clock ran out.
Russell took seventh, with Gasly, Nico Hülkenberg, and Albon completing the top ten.
READ MORE: 2025 Saudi Arabian GP Preview: The Grid Heads to Jeddah for Round Five
Saturday FP3: McLaren Domination Begins
Norris again led the way at the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP, topping the final practice session ahead of Piastri to secure a McLaren one-two.
FP3 marked the final chance for teams to fine-tune their set-ups before qualifying, and early action was limited.
Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto hit the track first, eager to make up for lost time after sitting out FP2 due to a fuel leak. Jack Doohan started on the softs, while Haas sent Ocon and Bearman out early, joined by the Aston Martins on mediums.
With 20 minutes gone, the session came to life. Verstappen briefly led with a lap 0.045s quicker than the McLaren pair, but it proved short-lived.
As soft-tyre runs became the focus, drivers began to find time on their second push laps, underlining the importance of track space and traffic management, with Hadjar among those caught out by slower cars.
As the field geared up for their final laps, Russell struck first, going quickest with a 1:28.214 before Piastri lowered the bar to a 1:27.513.
Norris initially slotted in behind, but with just minutes remaining, he delivered an impressive final effort of 1:27.489, enough to narrowly reclaim the top spot.
Saturday Qualifying: Verstappen on Pole
Qualifying began with a busy start in Jeddah, with all drivers heading out on softs. Piastri and Norris continued their fine form from practice, switching fastest times, but Verstappen eventually topped the session with a 1:27.778.
Drama struck for Hadjar, who reported brushing the wall, while Alpine endured a worrying moment as Gasly was released with a tyre warmer still attached. The final minutes saw the usual shuffle as drivers attempted to escape the drop zone.
Knocked out in Q1: Stroll, Doohan, Hulkenberg, Ocon, and Bortoleto.
Norris held strong in Q2, setting a session-topping 1:27.481 to lead Verstappen by 0.043s. However, the Red Bull driver expressed concerns about his car after clipping a kerb.
Meanwhile, the fight to reach Q3 was fierce. Luckily for Mercedes and Williams, Antonelli and Sainz delivered under pressure to move safely through.
Knocked out in Q2: Albon, Lawson, Alonso, Hadjar, and Bearman.
The final shootout got underway with Piastri setting the only lap time of the session before teammate Norris crashed, which brought out the red flag and added tension to the closing minutes.
After the restart, Russell briefly held P1 before Piastri exerted a strong effort to take provisional pole.
Verstappen, however, had timed his final lap to perfection. With a smooth run, the reigning champion stole pole position by a tenth of a second, denying McLaren the race start they were hoping for.
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Saudi Arabian GP: Piastri Takes His Third Win of 2025
Piastri secured a commanding victory at the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP, holding off Verstappen to take his third win of the season.
The Australians’ triumph was set in stone after Verstappen received a five-second time penalty for forcing Piastri off at the opening corner.
P1ASTRI AGAIN! 🏆@OscarPiastri secures our first-ever win in Saudi Arabia 🧡#McLaren | #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/IfmkWbNGgD
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 20, 2025
Leclerc completed the podium in third, while Norris recovered from his Qualifying crash to take fourth with a strategic drive through the field.
Mercedes duo Russell and Antonelli finished fifth and sixth, respectively, after a consistent performance from the Silver Arrows.
The race opened with immediate drama as Verstappen and Piastri clashed at Turn 1, mirroring past controversies at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. While Verstappen temporarily took the lead, the stewards’ penalty handed the advantage to the McLaren driver.
A collision between Tsunoda and Gasly at Turn 4 brought out the safety car on the first lap, forcing both drivers to retire.
Verstappen led after the restart, momentarily distancing himself from Piastri.
However, the Red Bull driver’s pace waned as the race progressed, with Piastri remaining patient to reassert control following the pit window.
Leclerc briefly inherited the lead during the pit cycle but could not defeat the pace of the McLarens.
Norris, extending his first stint on hard tyres, returned to the track in fifth and quickly overtook Antonelli and Russell. Though he closed to within a second of Leclerc, the podium remained just out of reach for a driver with an excellent recovery drive in Jeddah.
Elsewhere, Alonso narrowly avoided contact with Bortoleto during a tense moment in the midfield, while Lawson was penalised for track limits infractions.
The race’s closing laps saw few changes at the front, with Piastri maintaining a comfortable lead over Verstappen, confirming his position as the early title contender in 2025.
What Do the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships Look Like?
Piastri leaves Jeddah leading the 2025 Drivers’ Championship with 99 points.
Oscar Piastri, everyone! 👏
The McLaren driver leads the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career #F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/y19dsynNDi
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 20, 2025
Norris sits second with 89. However, Verstappen is right behind him on 87 points. Russell and Leclerc round out the top five, with 73 and 47 points respectively.
McLaren lead the Constructors’ Championship with 188.
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Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / PsnewZ
Recording Date: 20.04.2025
