Which Formula 1 driver made the most of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend?
It’s time to give your verdict on which driver did the best with the equipment at their disposal over the last three days.
Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Driver performance summary
| Driver | Q stage | Q pos. | Q gap to team mate | GP grid pos. | GP pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lando Norris | Q3 | 10 | -0.064s | 10 | 4 |
| Oscar Piastri | Q3 | 2 | +0.064s | 2 | 1 |
| Charles Leclerc | Q3 | 4 | -0.531s | 4 | 3 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Q3 | 7 | +0.531s | 7 | 7 |
| Max Verstappen | Q3 | 1 | -0.910s | 1 | 2 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | Q3 | 8 | +0.910s | 8 | Not classified |
| Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Q3 | 5 | +0.459s | 5 | 6 |
| George Russell | Q3 | 3 | -0.459s | 3 | 5 |
| Lance Stroll | Q1 | 16 | +0.097s | 16 | 16 |
| Fernando Alonso | Q2 | 13 | -0.097s | 13 | 11 |
| Jack Doohan | Q1 | 17 | +0.318s | 17 | 17 |
| Pierre Gasly | Q3 | 9 | -0.318s | 9 | Not classified |
| Esteban Ocon | Q1 | 19 | +0.556s | 19 | 14 |
| Oliver Bearman | Q2 | 15 | -0.556s | 15 | 13 |
| Isack Hadjar | Q2 | 14 | +0.227s | 14 | 10 |
| Liam Lawson | Q2 | 12 | -0.227s | 12 | 12 |
| Alexander Albon | Q2 | 11 | +0.085s | 11 | 9 |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | Q3 | 6 | -0.085s | 6 | 8 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Q1 | 18 | -0.680s | 18 | 15 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | Q1 | 20 | +0.680s | 20 | 18 |
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Vote for your driver of the weekend
Which driver do you think did the best job throughout the race weekend?
Who got the most out of their car in qualifying and the race? Who put their team mate in the shade?
Cast your vote below and explain why you chose the driver you picked in the comments.
Who was the best driver of the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend?
- No opinion (0%)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (1%)
- Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
- Carlos Sainz Jnr (9%)
- Alexander Albon (0%)
- Yuki Tsunoda (0%)
- Isack Hadjar (0%)
- Oliver Bearman (0%)
- Esteban Ocon (0%)
- Pierre Gasly (0%)
- Jack Doohan (0%)
- Fernando Alonso (0%)
- Lance Stroll (0%)
- George Russell (0%)
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (1%)
- Liam Lawson (0%)
- Max Verstappen (2%)
- Lewis Hamilton (3%)
- Charles Leclerc (31%)
- Oscar Piastri (52%)
- Lando Norris (1%)
Total Voters: 101
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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
Debates and polls
- Poll: Are Briatore or Symonds welcome in F1 so long after Crashgate?
- Doohan out, Colapinto in: Have Alpine made the right call?
- Which penalty calls did the stewards get right – or wrong – over the first five rounds?
- Should Mercedes re-sign Russell for 2026 – even if it leaves no room for Verstappen?
- Vote for your 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
21st April 2025, 0:53
LEC but ANT is doing real well.
Mark (@blueruck)
21st April 2025, 15:41
I have to wonder if there has been a rookie who has scored so consistent as Kimi during their first few races. He is going to be amazing to watch after a year or 2 of running.
Joe (@jbarber43932)
21st April 2025, 22:43
Lewis had 9 podiums from debut I believe.
ANT impressive so far!
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
21st April 2025, 2:30
Chuck LeCluck kept delivering this weekend. Lewis not so much.
Good from Max and Georgie Boi as well. Italian Kimi still has a bit to go.
Oscar consistently good but seemed to be pipped by Lando for nearly the whole weekend -except for just one moment.
Very hard to tell with the not so good cars as they were nearly always stuck in traffic, except for the Williams: congrats to Carlos for his qualifying but Alex caught him in the race and then together worked well as a team to hold off the faster Isaac. Liam was better than he has been but still a way to go.
Pierre qualified very well and may have been absolutely outstanding in the race if Yuki hadn’t understeered him into the fence, pity we couldn’t find out. Jack went for the early “free” pitstop and then spent 15 laps within 0.7 seconds of the car in front totally unable to overtake in that underpowered ****box – but hopefully the lesson about what being so close to the car in front does to your tyres will sink in.
Was Nando delivering above what the AM should? Hard to tell, but comprehensively better than Laurence Jr.
Oli outqualyed Esti, and that was important for their race.
And Gabby proved that he still has a bit to learn. Nico was better: perhaps his weekend was brilliant but in such a car? We’ll never know how good he was and we’ll surely never vote for him.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
21st April 2025, 4:20
Not sure why Piastri is getting so many votes. All he did was keep it out of the barriers and have a good start. He was the slower McLaren driver all weekend. I’d go for Leclerc, maximised quali and race.
Nikos (@exeviolthor)
21st April 2025, 5:14
The overtake on Hamilton was great, though.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
21st April 2025, 11:16
Lewis getting any votes was more surprising surely? WHo drove better than Oscar? No one and he won so he gets it
Jere (@jerejj)
21st April 2025, 6:36
DOTW: SAI, DOTD: SAI
AlexS
21st April 2025, 8:13
Leclerc.
Neil (@neilosjames)
21st April 2025, 11:27
Good and well-managed drive by Piastri of course, but went for Leclerc.
David BR (@david-br)
21st April 2025, 12:05
Leclerc too.
Riccard
21st April 2025, 12:53
Leclerc for me, but with an honorable mention for Sainz.
I don’t get the 57% votes for Piastri: he had the fastest car, with his teammate out of the picture, but dropped the ball in qualifying (having been slower than his teammate all week) and then needed a great start and a penalty to put his car back where it was meant to be.
He’ll be happy with the weekend, but it wasn’t “driver of the weekend”. More like scrapping for the win when you’re not at your best.
Verstappen outperformed Piastri (and made things a fight), but with a poor start and a penalty, I don’t have him as number one either.
Lerclerc and Sainz both did some things really well, and nothing really wrong. I think they’re comfortably clear of the rest. What a driver lineup that would make, eh?