Max Verstappen will start the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from pole position after narrowly beating Oscar Piastri in qualifying.
Red Bull claimed pole position for the fourth year in a row at Jeddah.
However championship leader Lando Norris will start down in 10th after crashing in the final phase of qualifying.
Q1
Despite Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber spinning in front of him at turn one late in the session, Max Verstappen headed the times at the end of Q1. He displaced the two McLaren drivers who spent most of the first phase of qualifying trading fastest times.They didn’t have to worry about elimination in the first round, but the fight for survival was as intense as ever. Lewis Hamilton, enduring a difficult weekend in his Ferrari, had to resort to another set of fresh soft tyres in order to ensure he progressed to the next phase.
Pierre Gasly had a couple of scares as he made the cut. His team sent him out of the garage for his final run before they’d fully removed the tyre blanket from his right-front. It became tangled around his wheel and had to be yanked free by a mechanic. Once on the track the first practice pace-setter clipped the wall at the final corner but kept his foot in to secure a place in Q2.
It came at the expense of his team mate, however. Jack Doohan slipped to 17th behind Lance Stroll, who also went no further while his team mate progressed. Fernando Alonso used the slipstream from Doohan’s car to set himself up for a flying start to his lap.
Esteban Ocon was slower than team mate Oliver Barman from their first laps and dropped out in 19th between the two Saubers, Bortoleto slowest of all after his spin. The Racing Bulls pair were the last drivers to make the cut. Isack Hadjar having also touched the turn 27 wall.
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Q1 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’27.778 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’27.805 | 0.027 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’27.901 | 0.123 |
| 4 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’28.128 | 0.350 |
| 5 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’28.226 | 0.448 |
| 6 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’28.279 | 0.501 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’28.282 | 0.504 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’28.354 | 0.576 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’28.372 | 0.594 |
| 10 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’28.421 | 0.643 |
| 11 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’28.536 | 0.758 |
| 12 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’28.548 | 0.770 |
| 13 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’28.552 | 0.774 |
| 14 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’28.561 | 0.783 |
| 15 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’28.571 | 0.793 |
| 16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’28.645 | 0.867 |
| 17 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’28.739 | 0.961 |
| 18 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’28.782 | 1.004 |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’29.092 | 1.314 |
| 20 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’29.462 | 1.684 |
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Q2
Verstappen beat Piastri’s first effort in qualifying, and though Norris beat them both he needed a slipstream from his team mate to do it. The Red Bull driver suffered a heavy kerb strike between turns four and five, and urged his team to check for damage.
Russell took up fourth to begin with ahead of Leclerc, followed by Tsunoda and Hamilton. Sainz was eighth after the first runs but he too had taken a slipstream from his team mate.
As the final runs began Gasly, Bearman, Alonso and the Racing Bulls pair were in the drop zone. Of those, only Gasly managed to escape the bottom five with his final run, as Albon paid the price of being one of the first to set his final time.
Hamilton and Tsunoda needed their final laps to ensure they progressed to Q2. The Ferrari driver made it in narrowly by just seven thousandths of a second from Albon’s Williams.
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Q2 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’27.481 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’27.529 | 0.048 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’27.545 | 0.064 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’27.599 | 0.118 |
| 5 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’27.798 | 0.317 |
| 6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’27.866 | 0.385 |
| 7 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’27.990 | 0.509 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’28.024 | 0.543 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’28.025 | 0.544 |
| 10 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’28.102 | 0.621 |
| 11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’28.109 | 0.628 |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’28.191 | 0.710 |
| 13 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’28.303 | 0.822 |
| 14 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’28.418 | 0.937 |
| 15 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’28.648 | 1.167 |
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Q3
Q3 was only running long enough for Piastri to set the fastest time when it was red-flagged – and the cause was his team mate.While Piastri was approaching the final corner, Norris had run too deep into turn four, thumped across the kerb and slid into the barrier. He reported he was unhurt, but the left-hand side of his MCL39 was extensively damaged and his qualifying session was over. “Fucking idiot,” he cursed.
When the session resumed, Verstappen and Sainz made sure they got banker laps in, heading out immediately to start a run. It paid off for Verstappen as he snatched the fastest time away from Piastri by a thousandth of a second, despite complaining of low grip at the first corner. “The tyres were not ready,” race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase advised.
Verstappen then dashed back into the pits for a fresh set of rubber. Meanwhile the rest of the drivers had joined the track.
By the time Verstappen came back around to finish his final lap, he was down to third place. Russell had produced another strong lap to lay his claim to pole position, only to see Piastri beat it. Verstappen lost a little time in the middle of the lap but claimed it back at the end, snatching pole away from Piastri by just a hundredth of a second.
Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari fourth while Andrea Kimi Antonelli ensured both Mercedes will start in the top five. Hamilton salvaged seventh but was out-qualified by the driver he replaced at Ferrari, Sainz, in his Williams. Norris stands to line up 10th behind Tsunoda and Gasly.
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Q3 result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’27.294 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’27.304 | 0.010 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’27.407 | 0.113 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’27.670 | 0.376 |
| 5 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’27.866 | 0.572 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’28.164 | 0.870 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’28.201 | 0.907 |
| 8 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’28.204 | 0.910 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’28.367 | 1.073 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | No time |
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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
- Red Bull made tactical decision not to avoid a penalty in Jeddah, Horner confirms
- Norris’s starts were far poorer than Verstappen’s but the balance is shifting
- McLaren’s rivals “just one upgrade away from being the lead car” – Brown
- Russell told race control what he thought of Verstappen’s first lap corner cut
- Doohan’s final corner pass on Bortoleto was F1’s closest fight for last place in seven years
Doggy
19th April 2025, 19:22
And this is why each and every single team in F1 will drop any of their drivers to give it to Max.
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
19th April 2025, 19:23
Awful from Norris. He needs to do a spectacular race. Good pole from Verstappen maybe red bull and mclaren closer than has been shown. Piastri now needs to show his quality. Russell is producing a tremendous season. Car has been built for him. Just needs a bit more pace in the race and quali and he will be well in the title. No faith Ferrari can deliver for leclerc.
Roy Beedrill
19th April 2025, 19:23
I like how others always asking their engineers where they’re slow and Max telling his engineer where he’s slow. This is exactly what Newey told about him.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
19th April 2025, 19:31
I’m beginning to think Max is more machine than man now. I’ve seen some great drivers in my times…… how often he surprises is almost boring now.
BMW P85 V10
19th April 2025, 20:24
Think different. Be surprised when he’s not surprising you.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
20th April 2025, 2:35
Yes, I think there’s definitely good arguments for considering him the best of all time, even though it’s difficult to compare different eras.
David BR (@david-br)
19th April 2025, 19:40
Last season I had 2021 and 2024 down as his best seasons. This year could beat even those. Jeddah is a track where his precision, speed and daring all pay off. Not sure, like he said after, whether he can keep Piastri and Russell behind in the race, both looking and potentially faster cars, but it’s an ideal setup for a great race.
Patrick (@paeschli)
19th April 2025, 20:20
What did Newey say exactly? I don’t know what you’re referring to.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th April 2025, 19:28
What a tight & tense qualifying, & coincidently the exact same top ten as in Bahrain.
What an error by Lando.
A surprisingly big gap again between the Haas duo, even bigger than between the Alpine duo.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th April 2025, 19:39
To be precise, I meant the same ten drivers rather than exact same top ten finishing order.
Edvaldo
19th April 2025, 19:33
Norris somehow managed to be worse than just slow. A P3 or P4 wouldn’t be ideal but a crash is so much worse.
It’s round 5 and he’s already on 2024 levels or pressure to win.
Very good from the top 3, Leclerc in no-mans-land again and then the rest.
MG1982 (@mg1982)
19th April 2025, 19:55
Unfortunately, most of the season will be like that. There’s like almost no trust they’ll develop the car during the season to catch Mercedes.
David BR (@david-br)
19th April 2025, 19:34
Great battle for pole between the 3 title contenders. Tsunoda showing he was worth the swap, Sainz and Gasly looking good, Ferrari disappointing.
Norris? Is it even a question anymore? McLaren should still back him but they must know which of their drivers is the most reliable one over a season by now.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
20th April 2025, 2:39
Yes, some people thought tsunoda lied to increase his odds of the seat when he said the car suited him in the test, but looks like he didn’t; tsunoda translated his performance at toro rosso into red bull, which is a thing very few drivers can do nowadays.
MichaelN
19th April 2025, 19:45
Norris really didn’t need that. Poor from Piastri to lose pole after they showed so much pace in FP. But at least P2 still gives him a real chance at the win, and an opportunity to show he was right in Japan and can take the fight to Verstappen.
Good stuff for Sainz, and decent enough for Tsunoda for now.
Edvaldo
19th April 2025, 19:58
Red Bull seems to find its optimal operation window on cooler temps, so they have their merit on this pole. They were fast throughout the session, and it would be defined by a small margin with or without Norris there. I do think Norris is still a tiny bit faster than Piastri and just lost a good opportunity for an easy win from pole tomorrow.
Mooa42
20th April 2025, 2:56
Seems like McLaren have left something in the 1st sector in China, Japan and here. Max has his tyres working for the first sector and seems to make that crucial difference.
I’d rather see Lando push hard with the occasional error in qualifying than not push hard enough. Lando races well with some anger on board, let’s hope he doesn’t have too much downforce which stops him benefiting from the drs zones like happened last year with Piastri.
Looking forward to a max Piastri battle off the line.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
20th April 2025, 8:56
FP took place at virtually a different track with the temperature. So it’s circumstancial that Red Bull and Mercedes got good late in the evening. Piastri only lost pole by 1 hundred of a second, I’d not call that poor.
BasCB (@bascb)
19th April 2025, 19:46
Max just shows why he’s been the guy to beat over the last few years. Norris – yeah, badly needs to get his head right, just focus on his own driving. Russel also great lap. Piastri – hm, not sure. He was a tad behind Norris all day, he made mistakes in every lap he did. But he did at least not crash and is on the first row. Now he will have to drive it home and show he can win this.
Jonathan Parkin
20th April 2025, 5:00
As a wise person said once ‘You’ve got to drive the car you’re in’
MG1982 (@mg1982)
19th April 2025, 19:46
It looks more and more like the WDC fight won’t be a walk in the park for McLaren. Just like last year, they’re very lucky RBR’s 2nd driver is far down the grid and not taking points from them in the WDC. If all the upgrades will work as planned for RBR, big chances Max will win the WDC again.
Markos
19th April 2025, 19:58
Wow, that was pretty epic!! Seems like it takes Red Bull some time each weekend to setup the car, but in the end it works and Max does the rest.
Hopefully the race will be exciting as well!
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
19th April 2025, 19:58
Ferrari could realistically contend for the WCC if they had a more competent team principal than Vasseur, whose relaxed demeanor feels out of place given the team’s potential. With McLaren having the best car but their drivers constantly fail to deliver and RBR the best driver, Ferrari still has a shot at the WCC provided they deliver consistently strong performances like with the SF-24 in the upcoming European races. Hard times to be an Ferrari fan…
Biggsy
19th April 2025, 20:10
They still have the whole race ahead of them, to fumble it with strategy, even further…
Edvaldo
19th April 2025, 20:13
But even with their drivers constantly failing to deliver, they’re finishing ahead of both Ferrari drivers more often than not.
Ferrari has a good shot at P3 or P2, depending on how Antonelli and Tsunoda performs. But McLaren is completely out of reach.
David
19th April 2025, 23:02
Signing Hamilton was a critical error. Not Fred’s fault, everyone knows that John Elkann was behind it.
Look at how Sainz is doing now he is gaining confidence at Williams, and look at how Mercedes are doing without Lewis’s negativity dragging the team down. Hamilton has always been a disruptive influence, and at the age of 40 he’s not even fast any more. Poor Charles gets nothing out of this. Toto and James Vowles are loving it.
They’ll be P4 in the championship this year when they should have been building on that P2 finish in 2024.
Edvaldo
20th April 2025, 0:21
How would they build on that P2 when they can’t even finish in the top 3 this year?
What you’re saying would make sense if Leclerc were racing at the top and winning races, yet his best finish was a P4, compared to 3 McLaren wins, 2nd places, and 2 3rd places.
It’s not Sainz that would make up for that difference, as he more often than not was trailing Leclerc.
T
20th April 2025, 1:02
the way people talk about Hamilton and Leclerc you’d think Charles was fighting for wins or podiums and pole positions while Lewis is barely skating by trundling around all clueless
the most insane part of this “critical error” rhetoric is that Lewis Hamilton is Ferrari’s last and current winner
you really are only as good as you last session huh?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
20th April 2025, 2:44
Well, he won a sprint, not a race, that’s something, but saying he’s the last winner is an exaggeration.
T
20th April 2025, 3:16
He put 6 seconds on a McClaren and don’t you give me the old tires excuse, his tires were also worn but even more importantly, every time max threatened him in the beginning with fresh tires, Lewis just widened the gap
The last time a Ferrari won something Lewis was driving it, there is no exaggeration about this
Alonslow
20th April 2025, 2:59
Should have went for Max, I still see it in his future, Schumacher second coming, Max can bring ‘3 tenths’ to Ferrari like Fernando used to say.
pj
20th April 2025, 10:41
you cant possible drag a car faster than it’s supposed to go. it’s theoretically and physically impossible. either you maximize it, or you underperform. thats it. theres nothing in the middle and beyond. can we stop with this outdriving rhetoric?
Edvaldo
20th April 2025, 16:09
It takes two to close a deal. Do you think Max would have left 2023 Red Bull for Ferrari?
Easiest thing in the world, “oh, they should’ve went with Max.” yeah, Alpine too, instead of Jack Doohan, or Haas, instead of Ocon, “they should’ve went with Max” lol
MichaelN
20th April 2025, 9:28
Why look at Sainz now, when we have three years of seeing him at Ferrari? He had his moments, and was closer to Leclerc than many would have expected, but he was on the whole not as quick. He has race smarts, though, but the moments where that matters are limited.
Leclerc isn’t taking podiums either, and with Ferrari more accurately described as the best of the midfield than the worst of the top teams, Sainz and Hamilton probably doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. Any talk of the championship is completely moot when Ferrari can’t even outscore Verstappen on his own, never mind McLaren and Mercedes, especially with Russell doing such a great job.
David BR (@david-br)
20th April 2025, 13:03
Signing Hamilton wasn’t a ‘critical error’, either it makes no difference as MichaelN says or Hamilton finds a way to drive this year’s car (much) faster or next year’s. He also adds vast title-winning experience. You recall he qualified first and won a sprint race? In terms of talent, he’s entirely capable of winning races and even a championship again. What is true is his confidence drop since 2021. Since then he’s been ‘adapting’ his style constantly in search of a solution to cars that simply aren’t frontrunners for the vast majority of races. A lot is expected of him, he has a fast teammate with years of experience driving the Ferrari, and it’s clearly in his mind too that the problem is him as much as the car. The question, I think, is more what Ferrari do to improve the car. Even if Hamilton drives consistently to Leclerc’s level or beyond, currently it wouldn’t win them either title.
Biggsy
19th April 2025, 19:59
Imagine how much more competitive Tsunoda would have been, if they’d actually given him the seat from the start, and provided him with all the pre-season preparation, both in simulator and in the car.
Patrick (@paeschli)
19th April 2025, 20:23
If we started the season with Tsunoda in that car we would say that it’s unacceptable that Tsunoda barely scratches by into the top 10 during quali and races while Verstappen is out there fighting for wins.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
20th April 2025, 2:45
Tbh I think tsunoda reached his peak performance by now, starting the season at red bull wouldn’t make a lot of difference.
David BR (@david-br)
20th April 2025, 13:05
@esploratore1 Not sure about that. Tsunoda can probably edge a bit closer still to Verstappen.
RH
20th April 2025, 14:27
Yeah half a second a lap.
David BR (@david-br)
20th April 2025, 14:55
He’s only been in the car a few races and is already getting a supposedly tricky car into Q3 when Pérez and Lawson were going out in Q1. So the idea he has peaked already in terms of learning the car seems totally unlikely.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
19th April 2025, 20:15
I imagine the happiest drivers with that are Verstappen (obviously), Sainz, Hamilton (getting out of Q1 looked a push after fp3), and Yuki.
Hopefully a good battle awaits tomorrow, and lets see what Norris can do to redeem himself.
Speaking of Norris, all that chat about it being easy for Max and Lewis when they had top cars – that’s not aged well has it!
Mr A
19th April 2025, 20:36
Amazing what qualifies as a heavy crash these days.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
20th April 2025, 2:46
I guess it’s more meant as a crash that could have heavy repercussions in the championship, the kind of crashes that aren’t dangerous for the driver but are bad from a sporting standpoint, the driver says he’s ok but he’s not because he’ll lose a lot of points.
kcrossle (@kcrossle)
19th April 2025, 21:25
25G? Just a flesh wound.
David
19th April 2025, 22:52
Fantastic qualifying session. Really impressed with the job George is doing with Mercedes. Oscar showing a calm head and solid pace. Lando making another mistake when the pressure is on. Max phenomenal again.
Four different constructors in the top 4. Stage is set for a great Grand Prix.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
20th April 2025, 3:16
Hope the race is exciting as the qualifying. McLarens are fast in the heat but come back to the field when the track cools down. I’m thinking 2 red flags in the race.
Zach (@zakspeedf1team)
20th April 2025, 8:48
Congrats to 2025 Drivers Champion Max Verstappen!
David BR (@david-br)
20th April 2025, 13:06
@zakspeedf1team McLaren/Piastri and Mercedes/Russell may have something to say about that still.