After recovering six places to finish fourth at Jeddah, Lando Norris said he didn’t think he could have finished any higher.
But he took the chequered flag just over a second behind Charles Leclerc’s third-placed Ferrari – tantalisingly close to being within DRS range. Leclerc should have been grateful to his team mate Lewis Hamilton, who delayed Norris’s progress for several laps earlier in the race.Did Hamilton – inadvertently or otherwise – help buy his team mate enough time over Norris to ensure his third place would be safe? Or to put it another way, had Norris not been re-passed twice by Hamilton on consecutive laps, would he have caught Leclerc soon enough to attack him?
Norris was only four-and-a-half seconds behind Leclerc on lap 11, when he first started trying to pass Hamilton. Norris was actually ahead at the start/finish line on the next two laps, but each time Hamilton was in the process of re-passing him. Finally, on lap 14, Hamilton made it to the finishing line first, but Norris came by as they reached turn one, and the position was his.
It came at a cost, however, as Leclerc was now 6.2 seconds up the road. Norris never quite got within a second of Leclerc at the start/finish line, but with an extra 1.7 seconds in his hand he might have done so with three laps to go.
So it’s highly likely Norris would have caught Leclerc sooner, but as the aphorism goes, ‘catching is one thing, passing another’. Norris and Leclerc both passed Russell with little difficulty in their second stints, but both were comfortably quicker than the Mercedes.
Norris, on his fresher medium rubber, was consistently quicker than Leclerc until he began to get within DRS range. They nearly matched lap times several times over the final tours.
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The DRS effect was very powerful around Jeddah, however, so had Norris actually been able to get close enough to use it, there’s a decent chance he could have passed the Ferrari. At the very least, he might have done as he did to Hamilton on laps 12 and 13, and beaten Leclerc to the finishing line, which on the last lap would have been sufficient.
None of that is to underestimate the quality of Leclerc’s drive. Once again he pulled off a superb long stint, showing the Ferrari can look after its tyres very nicely indeed, which on the right day is surely going to pay off handsomely.
Three drivers tried the extreme strategy of pitting at the end of lap one to switch from the medium rubber to hards. Two of them exchanged the last two places in the running order on the final lap of the race: Gabriel Bortoleto, who toughed it out to the flag lost 17th to Jack Doohan, the only two-stopper. Esteban Ocon, meanwhile, was the last unlapped driver after a very slow final tour.
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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix lap chart
The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix race chart
The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix lap times
All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:
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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix fastest laps
Each driver’s fastest lap:
| Rank | # | Driver | Car | Lap time | Gap | Avg. speed (kph) | Lap no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’31.778 | 242.21 | 41 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’32.192 | 0.414 | 241.13 | 49 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’32.228 | 0.450 | 241.03 | 50 |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’32.280 | 0.502 | 240.9 | 49 |
| 5 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1’32.396 | 0.618 | 240.59 | 50 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | 1’32.466 | 0.688 | 240.41 | 50 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1’32.600 | 0.822 | 240.06 | 43 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’32.745 | 0.967 | 239.69 | 44 |
| 9 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’32.893 | 1.115 | 239.31 | 32 |
| 10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 1’32.998 | 1.220 | 239.04 | 43 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’33.009 | 1.231 | 239.01 | 49 |
| 12 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine-Renault | 1’33.150 | 1.372 | 238.65 | 48 |
| 13 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | 1’33.238 | 1.460 | 238.42 | 50 |
| 14 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 1’33.257 | 1.479 | 238.37 | 39 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’33.446 | 1.668 | 237.89 | 39 |
| 16 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’33.477 | 1.699 | 237.81 | 47 |
| 17 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | 1’34.309 | 2.531 | 235.71 | 47 |
| 18 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’34.447 | 2.669 | 235.37 | 39 |
| 19 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 2’45.662 | 73.884 | 134.19 | 1 |
2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
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2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
| Rank | # | Driver | Team | Complete stop time (s) | Gap to best (s) | Stop no. | Lap no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 20.131 | 1 | 29 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 20.144 | 0.013 | 1 | 23 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 20.329 | 0.198 | 1 | 20 |
| 4 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 20.399 | 0.268 | 1 | 19 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 20.427 | 0.296 | 1 | 34 |
| 6 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 20.441 | 0.31 | 1 | 33 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 20.487 | 0.356 | 1 | 39 |
| 8 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 20.534 | 0.403 | 1 | 20 |
| 9 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine | 20.571 | 0.44 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 20.827 | 0.696 | 1 | 34 |
| 11 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 21.388 | 1.257 | 1 | 19 |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 21.512 | 1.381 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine | 21.521 | 1.39 | 2 | 32 |
| 14 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | 21.854 | 1.723 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 21.891 | 1.76 | 1 | 19 |
| 16 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 22.095 | 1.964 | 1 | 18 |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 22.135 | 2.004 | 1 | 22 |
| 18 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams | 24.148 | 4.017 | 1 | 21 |
| 19 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 26.03 | 5.899 | 1 | 21 |
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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
El Pollo Loco
21st April 2025, 2:50
Norris stopped himself with that quali and being suckered in by such obvious defensive tricks.
Mooa42
21st April 2025, 4:24
Lando’s moves on Lewis seemed odd, I mean surely Norris had re-watched previous years races and saw what happened at that corner?
Oscar had fresher rubber than Lewis but still made short work of Hamilton, that’s what Lando needed to do, something bold and unexpected.
Riccard
21st April 2025, 9:45
First time around Lando didn’t see it coming, which is probably in part because his speed difference to Hamilton’s base car was so large that he wasn’t thinking tactically.
On the second lap though, Norris was completely wise to the situation and following Hamilton through the preceding corner… but Hamilton branded early in front of him and forced Norris to take evasive action.
Hamilton could easily have had a penalty for that, and I think it’s fair enough for Norris to be surprised by it.
SteveP
21st April 2025, 10:56
Lando likes to make his own mistakes from scratch and not learn from others.
sumedh
21st April 2025, 6:30
Leclerc’s pace while being 1st was quite impressive!! If there had been a SC or a VSC at that time, he would have been right in the mix for a win
Riccard
21st April 2025, 9:47
Piastri showed he had enough pace in reserve. But a safety car would probably have let Leclerc take Verstappen.
The Ferrari seems stronger in the race than in qualifying… more able to push on its tires.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st April 2025, 6:52
Without getting re-passed twice, he might’ve indeed got a chance to pass for the lead, but whether he’d succeeded in that is another matter.
Therefore, the P3 outcome could’ve gone either way around rather than definitively one way around.
I’m still baffled by Ocon’s & Bortoleto’s stint lengths, & while Ocon indeed was the last to finish the race on the lead lap, even he was ultimately close to getting lapped on the final lap like Hulkenberg as he started the final lap by only roughly 2.7 seconds before Piastri crossed the timing line to clinch race victory, meaning that he never got blue flags or lights since that starts to happen at 1.2 seconds.
Doohan’s final lap pass on Bortoleto was one of a few overtaking moves that went entirely unseen on the world feed coverage.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2025, 14:38
Yeah, I do think Norris might have had a lap or two where he was close enough to Leclerc to push him, but I doubt he had the pace advantage to pass given how well Leclerc was going on his relatively fresh hard tyres towards the end.
Shame we weren’t shown that move by Doohan.
Bohdan Shpanchuk
21st April 2025, 7:26
In the same time Ham lost few seconds to Kimi, and maybe lost a chance to pass him at the end
AlexS
21st April 2025, 8:19
Charles had pace i think for more 5 laps without DRS threat. Last 2 lap are not representative i think, he was managing.
Francesco (@schivo69)
21st April 2025, 15:44
I think there’s only 1 driver responsible for stopping Lando to finish 3rd: Lando Norris. Missing DRS twice against Hamilton shows an endemic lack of lucidity and racecraft.
Edvaldo
21st April 2025, 15:45
Norris is in his 7th season, with a huge delta, falling for these tricks, TWICE!
He doesn’t fail to disappoint, does he?
AlexS
22nd April 2025, 21:25
In the last 5 laps was this:
46: 0.046 in Norris favor
47: 0.009 Leclerc favor
48: 0.476 in Norris favor
49: 0.014 in Norris favor and Leclerc own best lap of the race.
50: 0.228 in Norris favor.