Hello and welcome to this Total Motorsport live blog for the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit as teams and drivers gear up for the final race of the first Formula 1 triple-header of the season in Saudi Arabia.
Max Verstappen delivered a stunning qualifying performance under the lights in Jeddah to snatch pole position for the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, narrowly beating Oscar Piastri by just 0.010s in a tension-filled final session that included a red flag for a crash by Lando Norris. The starting grid is now set for Sunday’s race under the lights in Jeddah, where Verstappen will look to fend off McLaren.
Carlos Sainz put together his best qualifying of the year for Williams, taking sixth ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who lines up seventh as he continues to adapt to life in red at Ferrari. Yuki Tsunoda was eighth for Red Bull, while Pierre Gasly claimed ninth for Alpine. With Norris failing to set a time in Q3, he will start 10th on Sunday.
Total-Motorsport.com’s F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP live updates will offer fans unparalleled insight into team strategies, reliability concerns, and potential winners. So stay tuned with us as the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP unfolds live from Jeddah.
F1 Saudi Arabian GP 2025 LIVE: Latest Updates
RESULTS: How they finished at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP
McLaren bounded back in Jeddah as Oscar Piastri showed his mettle to put his car top of the F1 Saudi Arabian GP 2025 results, beating out Max Verstappen‘s Red Bull and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc who was third in Saudi Arabia.
Piastri seized the championship lead after a fiercely contested race under the lights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The McLaren driver capitalised on a penalty for Max Verstappen to secure his third victory of the season and continue a rapid rise in the F1 title race.
Here’s how they finished on Sunday:
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
REPORT: Piastri takes victory in Middle East
McLaren‘s Oscar Piastri secured his third win of the 2025 Formula 1 season and moved to the top of the drivers’ championship standings by winning the Saudi Arabian GP. A Lap 1 penalty for Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen proved to be the key moment of the race as the Dutchman took P2 from pole position.
Charles Leclerc managed to hold off a resurgent Lando Norris to take the final podium place in his Ferrari at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, whilst George Russell and Kimi Antonelli secured a healthy points haul for Mercedes before Lewis Hamilton came home in P7.
Read about all of the action below:
Piastri reacts to F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP win
Oscar Piastri needed the help of the stewards to slip by Max Verstappen at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP as the Australian went on to take victory after 50 laps of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
But the 23-year-old affirms he feels the penalty handed to the Dutchman was right, and called it the decision-maker on his way to the chequered flag.
“It was a pretty tough race,” Piastri told F1 TV. “I’m very, very happy to have won. Made the difference at the start. Made my case into Turn 1, and that was enough.
“It was really tricky to follow out there. I couldn’t really stay with Max at the end of the first stint, just chewed up my tyres. And then the clean air was nice after the pit stop.
“Great race. We did the parts we needed to right. Still need a bit more I think, Max was a little bit too close for our liking, but a great race and a great weekend.”
CHEQUERED FLAG: OSCAR PIASTRI WINS F1 2025 SAUDI ARABIAN GP
Oscar Piastri puts his foot down a little bit on the final lap of the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and wins the race to take the lead of the drivers’ championship for the first time in his Formula 1 career with a very mature drive from the Australian.
For the first time since 2010 someone from Down Under leads the championship, and the 23-year-old did exactly what he needed to once Max Verstappen collected his five-second time penalty by keeping he pace up just enough to stay out of reach of the Dutchman.
That’s his third win of the season as he leads home Red Bull’s Verstappen in second, with Charles Leclerc rounding out the podium – Ferrari’s first of the season and it was an impressive result for Williams, who bagged eighth and ninth to add key points to their haul.
Lap 49/50: Norris 1.2 behind
Lando Norris continues to bring the gap down but it might not be enough as Charles Leclerc continues to frustratingly evade the McLaren.
Who takes the podium as we come onto the last lap?
Lap 47/50: Norris hounding Leclerc
The gap is 1.8 seconds to Charles Leclerc ahead for McLaren’s Lando Norris, and the Ferrari driver is looking in his mirrors to see exactly where the papaya-coloured car is behind.
Norris holds the fastest lap and has the better tyres and car, but the Ferrari has track position.
Who will win this battle for the podium?
Lap 46/50: “Get out of the way,” says Piastri
Oscar Piastri is annoyed as he begins to hit back markers and loses time behind the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto.
The gap to Max Verstappen is now down to around three seconds, but the Red Bull also needs to pick his way through traffic too.
Piastri should have done enough to win in Jeddah tonight.
Lap 44/50: Norris cleared for pit exit infringement
Lando Norris did appear to put a wheel over the pit exit, which doesn’t comply with the race director notes for the weekend.
However, it was marginal and with no cars around him, a bit of common sense prevails and the McLaren is let off with no further action.
Lap 43/50: Clever games from Williams
Carlos Sainz has been told to give Alex Albon DRS and then push like crazy as the Williams drivers bid to secure eighth and ninth at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP.
They’re trying to fend off Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bull, who is on the faster medium tyres. The French-Algerian driver is looming large in Albon’s mirrors and making all kinds of darting actions behind to try to put the 29-year-old off.
Lap 41/50: Norris takes fourth from Russell
Strategy has got away from Mercedes today as Lando Norris is the latest driver to prove going long is better, blasting past the Mercedes halfway down the start-finish straight at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP.
The Brit is up to fourth and will now try to chase down Charles Leclerc for the final podium place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Lap 40/50: Norris noted for pit exit infringement
Lando Norris might have cut the pit exit as he changes his tyres, which could be a penalty for the McLaren driver if the stewards don’t look too kindly on it.
He’s currently chasing George Russell for fifth.
10 SECOND PENALTY FOR LAWSON
Liam Lawson collects a 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
That means the Kiwi’s bid for points comes to an end in Saudi Arabia.
Lap 38/50: Leclerc snatches podium place
Charles Leclerc is now past George Russell, blasting by with the outside line into Turn 1 after pulling ahead of the Mercedes within DRS. He’s now up to third.
Can he catch Max Verstappen? He has to make up eight seconds in Jeddah to do so… His attention might be on Lando Norris behind.
Lap 37/50: Leclerc in DRS of Russell
Charles Leclerc has been closing in on George Russell for sometime now and seems poised to make the overtake.
He’s in DRS of the Mercedes. The move feels inevitable.
Lap 35/50: Norris pits / Piastri leads
Lando Norris seems as though he just managed to get his car slowed down at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP as he comes into the pits for some medium tyres.
The Brit surrenders the lead to Oscar Piastri and will now try to move back through the pack on the medium tyres, he’s currently running in fifth.
Expect him to be quick.
Lap 34/50: Leclerc showing exceptional pace
Charles Leclerc is rapid at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and he is closing in on George Russell rapidly, with the Ferrari now just 1.8 seconds behind.
He could potentially be a problem for Lando Norris at the latter end of this race as the McLaren aims to fight his way through the field.
Lap 32/50: Bearman picks off Doohan
Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan go wheel-to-wheel through Turn 1 and 2 and it’s all very clean from the rookies, with the Haas of Bearman getting the move done around the outside on newer tyres.
Bearman now 16th.
Lap 30/50: Leclerc pits, Norris leads
Charles Leclerc finally gets rid of his medium tyres in a sensation two-second stop as McLaren’s Lando Norris, yet to pit, takes over the lead.
The Ferrari is back out into the race in fifth and should be far quicker than George Russell ahead; and potentially even Max Verstappen too.
Lap 29/50: Norris gets track limits violation
The hard tyres might be starting to fall away from McLaren’s Lando Norris as he waits to pit, picking up his first track limits infringement of the evening.
He needs to make sure he doesn’t collect any more of them, because he will have to push like crazy when he eventually pits to make up the time over Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.
REPLAY: Gabriel Bortoleto almost takes out Fernando Alonso!
Gabriel Bortoleto in the Sauber almost takes Fernando Alonso out of the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP as the Brazilian rookie moves over to the racing line and misjudges where the Aston Martin next to him is.
Alonso cuts the corner and jumps ahead, but gives the place back before complaining about the moment on the radio.
Bortoleto is now running in 18th (last), whilst Alonso continues on in 16th.
Lap 25/50: Your order halfway through
Charles Leclerc leads the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP from Lando Norris, but both are yet to serve their mandatory pit stops in Jeddah.
Then comes Oscar Piastri, Max Vetstappen, George Russell (the net top three), Isack Hadjar, Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg.
Pit stops are still ongoing, so expect the order to shuffle a bit more again.
Lap 23/50: Verstappen on the charge but frustrated!
Max Verstappen is already pushing the wheels off the Red Bull at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit but the Dutchman will be very, very frustrated in Saudi Arabia.
He comes across Lewis Hamilton, running in fourth, who defends the position through the high speed corners and allows the McLaren of Oscar Piastri to scamper off up the road with a four-second gap.
It’s also good news for Lando Norris, who is trying to make his way up to second in the standings. Hamilton pits at the end of the lap and comes back into the race in eighth.
Lap 22/50: Verstappen pits – Piastri leads!
Max Verstappen pushed hard for Red Bull before he came into the pits but he loses the lead of the race as Oscar Piastri pulls off the undercut on the defending world champion with the aid of the time penalty!
Will he manage to fight back?
Replays show the McLaren making an exceptional move on the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton into Turn 22, that might have won him the lead of the race by preventing him from being held up in the high speed corners.
Great action!
Lap 21/50: Russell pits
George Russell pits and remerges in seventh at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, right close behind Carlos Sainz in the Williams.
On the hard tyres, the Mercedes should blast by the Spaniard. Kimi Antonelli also pitted and is out in 10th, with a seven second gap to Isack Hadjar ahead.
The strategies are coming to life in Saudi Arabia!
Lap 20/50: McLaren pit Piastri
It’s time for the strategies to come to life as McLaren call Oscar Piastri into the pits for a pair of fresh tyres at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP.
He gets a 3.4 second stop and comes out into sixth on track, behind Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari. He’s 22.3 seconds off the lead at the moment.
When will Verstappen respond?
Lap 19/50: Norris up fifth
Lando Norris picks off Kimi Antonelli for fifth place, he’s making fine progress on those hard tyres.
He now sets about after Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari up the road.
Lap 17/50: Verstappen five seconds clear of Russell
Max Verstappen is now over five seconds of ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and will have a comfortable margin when he pits, meaning he should come out net-second place behind Oscar Piastri as things stand.
Lando Norris just put in the fastest lap of the race, he’s closing in on Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes for fifth at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Gap to Piastri is 2.6 seconds.
Lap 15/50: Norris clears Hamilton
Lando Norris goes Strat 8 for some extra power and this time waits behind the Ferrari as they come out of the final corner.
This time he has the DRS and the McLaren breezes by Lewis Hamilton into Turn 1. Norris up to sixth and around three seconds behind Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes.
Lap 14/50: Same defence by Hamilton again
Lewis Hamilton, this time, brakes earlier to make sure he keeps the DRS at the exit of Turn 27 and once again, blasts back past the McLaren into Turn 1.
Norris should clear him on this lap, the DRS tricks have been exhausted now.
Lap 13/50: Clever defence by Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton doesn’t put much of a fight up as Lando Norris in the McLaren slips by into Turn 27 at jeddah.
Aware of the double DRS zone, the Ferrari driver simply allows the Brit through, waits for the start-finish straight DRS and takes the place back into Turn 1.
Lap 12/50: Piastri pushing Verstappen
Oscar Piastri is now into the DRS of Max Verstappen but isn’t quite close enough as things stand.
We’ll see how punchy they get when they go wheel-to-wheel.
Lap 11/50: Albon annoyed with his engineer
Alex Albon is told to back off from Carlos Sainz slightly to manage his tyres and cooling but he’s far from impressed as he points out Isack Hadjar is close behind.
The Williams driver seems a bit frustrated at the lack of reading of the race picture.
He’s running in ninth place.
Lap 9/50: Verstappen noted for track limits
Max Verstappen is flagged for track limits at Turn 2 for cutting the corner, but the Red Bull insists it shouldn’t count because he was pushed off the track.
Since the stewards ruled he gained an advantage by going off track, that seems to be why they counted the limit as he cut the corner.
Verstappen leads Oscar Piastri by just over one second in Jeddah.
Lap 7/50: Antonelli pushing Leclerc hard
Kimi Antonelli is looming large in the wing mirrors of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP, ebbing in and out of DRS of the Monegasque as they battle for fourth place.
Ferrari doesn’t have the pace of Mercedes so far, Leclerc is already two seconds behind George Russell in the other Silver Arrow.
Lap 6/50: Norris passes Sainz
Lando Norris is now past the Williams roadblock of Carlos Sainz and he can kick on in his pursuit of the podium at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. He blasts past with DRS into Turn 1 and Saint was more than compliant.
Norris up to seventh, two seconds behind Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari.
Lap 5/50: DRS enabled
DRS is enabled giving the extra top speed boost for drivers at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP, but not for Oscar Piastri as Max Verstappen checks out in the lead of the race.
Fortunately for the McLaren, he has a nice gap to the Mercedes of George Russell behind so he won’t come under immediate pressure.
Lewis Hamilton has picked off Carlos Sainz for sixth, and that Lap 1 crash has let Lando Norris on the hard tyres move up to eighth.
Lap 4/50: FIVE SECOND PENALTY FOR VERSTAPPEN
Max Verstappen is given a five-second time penalty for cutting the corner at Lap 1 and retaining an advantage ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Fortunately for the Dutchman, he’s nailed the safety car restart and is already 1.1 seconds ahead of Piastri behind.
Lap 3/50: Verstappen noted / Safety car in this lap
Max Verstappen’s Lap 1 corner cut has been noted by Race Control. The next step is to open an investigation from the stewards team.
The Red Bull insists he was forced off, the McLaren says he was ahead at the apex. Who will they side with?
The safety car is back into the pits and we will get racing again shortly.
TSUNODA OUT OF F1 2025 SAUDI ARABIAN GP
Yuki Tsunoda pits as Red Bull inspect his car but there’s too much damage and he switches off the engine.
That’s a bitterly disappointing end to the race for the 24-year-old in Jeddah.
If he is punished for the crash with Gasly, that will be a grid drop for the next race in Miami.
Lap 2/50: Several drivers pit
Several drivers come into the pits to strap the hard tyres on, giving them the option to potentially one-stop from here on out depending on how the hard tyres perform in Jeddah.
Jack Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto and Esteban Ocon all pit.
Lap 1/50: SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly crash in what seems to be a racing incident where there simply wasn’t enough space for two cars into Turn 5.
Gasly is out of the race but Tsunoda carries on, he’s running in 19th as the safety car is deployed.
What will the FIA stewards make of that crash?
LIGHTS OUT: Verstappen cuts track to keep lead
Max Verstappen gets a bad start in the Red Bull and cuts Turn 1 to keep the position, he went off track.
Will he have to give that place back? The McLaren will certainly think so!
FORMATION LAP BEGINS
Max Verstappen leads the cars away for the formation lap at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
He’s got Oscar Piastri close behind him.
Which one of them will lead into Turn 1 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit?
Lando Norris going long in Jeddah
McLaren’s Lando Norris, starting from 10th on the grid, is the only driver using the hard tyre when the lights go out.
He could be vulnerable at the start, but might be a factor later in the race – especially if safety cars happen.
Everyone else is running the medium tyre.
Strategy options for the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP
Nobody is really sure if it’s a one-stopper or a two-stopper, with the hard tyre not being used throughout the Free Practice sessions in Jeddah.
Check out the different ways Pirelli predict you can make it to the chequered flag at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP below:
Verstappen going for the win
Max Verstappen feels confident ahead of the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP as he vows to battle McLaren’s Oscar Piastri under the night lights of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
And he even drops a hint about the Red Bull strategy, hinting they will run the medium tyres at some stage.
“I think it’s a little bit warmer than yesterday,” Verstappen tells Sky Sports F1. “But I think it’s going to be a battle with them anyway, whatever temperature it is.
“I hope that our pace is a bit better on the medium than it was in practice because it wasn’t very good. Hopefully we just find a bit more consistency, and then on the hard tyre, I don’t know.”
READ: Your grid for the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP
It’s Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on pole position at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Mercedes’ George Russell.
But where does everyone else line up for the 50 laps in the Middle East?
How punchy will the Williams drivers be?
Williams are enjoying a fine start to the season and generally seem to be best of the rest, with Carlos Sainz starting from sixth on the grid whilst Alex Albon starts from 11th.
Can they score double points? Their Thai-Brit star believes so, tipping them to beat some of the top teams if they manage to get their elbows out…
“I think Yuki and even Lewis, if Carlos can hold him off, he is in our race,” Albon tells Sky Sports F1. “We are trying to beat Alpine but we can race the top teams.
“It feels sticky. Engine and tyre cooling will be important. If you spend too many laps behind cars, you will overheat.”
Almost time to go: What can Ferrari do?
Lewis Hamilton is seventh on the grid and Charles Leclerc, in the other Ferrari, is starting from fourth on the grid.
Can they move forwards and score some big points for the team this weekend?
The Tifosi need a big result.
Norris upbeat despite qualifying crash
It will be interesting to see how much caution Lando Norris takes when he comes to Turn 5 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in the opening laps, after crashing there in Saturday’s qualifying.
He seems as though he might have put the accident behind him, seeming positive ahead of the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as he sets his target for the race.
“I’m excited to hopefully put on a good race today and have a bit of fun,” Norris said at an event prior to the race. “It’s a shame about yesterday.
“But look to the future, look ahead to today, an I’m excited to try to go forward and see if I can catch Oscar.”
Piastri tips Verstappen to be a problem in F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri starts from second on the grid at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP, but how does he rate his chances of victory in Jeddah?
First he needs to get past Max Verstappen, and he believes he will have multiple chances to overtake the Red Bull ahead of him.
“It’s a short run to Turn 1. Our car will be quick,” Piastri told Sky Sports F1. “We should have opportunities later in the race as well.
“There won’t just be one moment to try and win the race, there should be a few hopefully. I think Red Bull and Max look quick but we will wait and see.
“I’m confident we have got a strong car underneath us and and tyre degradation seems to be one of our strengths at the moment. Hopefully we can continue to use that tonight but I think they found a lot from Friday to Saturday.
“So I’m not expecting them to be slow but hopefully we still have an edge.”
Check out the gap between Verstappen and Piastri 👀
Just 0.010 split the Red Bull of Max Verstappen from the McLaren of Oscar Piastri as they duelled for pole position at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Curious as to just what that margin looks like? Find out below:
READ: Your report from qualifying
Max Verstappen showed his qualifying prowess once again as he snatches pole position at the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP for Red Bull, whilst McLaren‘s Lando Norris crashes out in a disastrous blow to the championship leader’s aspirations.
So how did the drama unfold on Saturday? Read Total-Motorsport.com’s report below.
Welcome to the blog for the F1 2025 Saudi Arabian GP
Will Max Verstappen his second win of the season, after snatching a surprising pole position from right under the nose of Oscar Piastri on Saturday?
What can McLaren’s Lando Norris do from 10th on the grid? The championship leader must fight back through the field to keep hold of his championship lead.
Where to Watch 2025 Saudi Arabian GP?
For viewers in the United States, 2025 Saudi Arabian GP will be shown on ESPN2, with streaming coverage via ESPN+.
In the UK, the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP is available on Sky Sports F1. And fans in Australia can catch all the action on Fox Sports 506, Kayo Sports, and Foxtel.
What time is the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP?
Free Practice 3 for the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP begins at 8:00pm local time on Friday in Jeddah. That means an early start for F1 fans in the UK, where FP3 begins at 6:00pm on Sunday evening.
Over in the USA, the 2025 Saudi Arabian GP FP3 session from Jeddah begins at 1:00pm ET on Sunday afternoon, which means a mid-morning 10:00am PT start for those on the West Coast.
