2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Review

Cover Image.jpg
Verstappen vs Piastri first-lap controversy, Saudi Arabia 2025. Image: Red Bull Content Pool / Getty Images
An action-packed Saudi Arabian Grand Prix sees McLaren's Oscar Piastri take victory ahead of Max Verstappen in second, and Charles Leclerc came home in third to claim Ferrari's first Grand Prix podium of 2025. With Piastri's victory, Australia sees one of its drivers lead the World Championship for the first time since Mark Webber in 2010.

Misery for Red Bull​

Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly caused an early safety car, forcing the Alpine driver out of the race after a hefty shunt into the wall. Tsunoda was able to drive away, but was pushed swiftly into the garage by the Red Bull pit crew, forcing the Japanese driver into retirement as well.

Piastri SA.png

Piastri, Saudi Arabia 2025. Image: Formula One

This race was the first time that two Red Bull cars had qualified in the top ten together. With Tsunoda's retirement and Verstappen's 5-second penalty, the start of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was not a great time to be a Red Bull fan.

Lando Norris's charge through the field​

Lap thirteen saw the two Brits go head to head as the charging McLaren driver found his first major roadblock in the shape of Hamilton's scarlet Ferrari. Twice, Lando Norris tried to dispatch the Ferrari just before the final DRS straight, and twice the seven-time World Champion came back at him, further bridging the gap between the second recovering McLaren and the then-leader, Max Verstappen.

Lap sixteen came onto the board, bringing eventual success for Norris by finally finding a way past Hamilton, thanks to being patient and using the DRS to his advantage.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari.jpg

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari. Image: Ferrari Multimedia

Norris would dispatch the first Mercedes driver, Kimi Antonelli, for 5th place with relative ease after the delayed pass on Hamilton.

Moving into lap forty-one, Norris was all over the gearbox of George Russell, using that final DRS zone yet again to his advantage.

Max Verstappen, Pits.jpg

Max Verstappen pitting. Image: Red Bull Content Pool / Getty Images

Guess The Podium Results​

It was a great weekend for McLaren, and even better for our top nine guessers, with all of them getting at least two of the drivers in the correct position! We had one perfect score, which was to my great surprise, myself, but leading the standings and following on from a very strong show in Bahrain, is @Majuh.

Moving into Miami in a few weeks time, the table is beginning to take shape. There are currently four players all jostling for that second position, so it really could be anyone's game!

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If you haven't been participating yet, do not fear! There is still plenty of time to win a year of premium website membership by guessing the podium positions of the next Grand Prix weekend, this time in Saudi Arabia. Check out the link below!

VOTE IN THE FORUM THREAD HERE!

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments below!
Christopher E - Community Manager

World Drivers Championship Standings​

After the dust settled in Jeddah, the driver's standings look like this:

PosDriverNationalityCarPts
1Oscar PiastriAUSMcLaren Mercedes99
2Lando NorrisGBRMcLaren Mercedes89
3Max VerstappenNEDRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT87
4George RussellGBRMercedes73
5Charles LeclercMONFerrari47
6Kimi AntonelliITAMercedes38
7Lewis HamiltonGBRFerrari31
8Alexander AlbonTHAWilliams Mercedes20
9Esteban OconFRAHaas Ferrari14
10Lance StrollCANAston Martin Aramco Mercedes10
11Pierre GaslyFRAAlpine Renault6
12Nico HulkenbergGERKick Sauber Ferrari6
13Oliver BearmanGBRHaas Ferrari6
14Isack HadjarFRARacing Bulls Honda RBPT5
15Carlos SainzESPWilliams Mercedes5
16Yuki TsunodaJPNRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT5
17Fernando AlonsoESPAston Martin Aramco Mercedes0
18Liam LawsonNZLRacing Bulls Honda RBPT0
19Jack DoohanAUSAlpine Renault0
20Gabriel BortoletoBRAKick Sauber Ferrari0
Results table credit: Formula One

What did you think about the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix? Let us know in the comments down below!
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Connor Minniss
Connor Minniss
Website Content Editor & Motorsport Photographer aiming to bring you the best of the best within the world of sim racing.

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Comments

WALEAD1999
here is my notes about each team after this race:
mclaren : piastri made a good job and also lando from p10 to p4
redbull : only max who drive the car while yuki crash into lap 1
ferrari : amazing strategy for charles to score poduim for hamilton i dont know what happened to him
mercedes : p5 and p6 for the team that good but need more updates to make the car go closer to mclaren
williams : cooking this race very well beautiful points for sainz and albon
RB (VCARB): a good 1 point for hadjar but lawson for some reason want to be the second driver after KMAG got a race ban even with that he made p12
alpine : poor gasly after 1 year and 4 races without damaging his car this is the first time he made a crash for doohan i think its time to give colapinto a chance to drive the car
Haas: from heros in bahrain to zero at saudi no points both of them ocon and bearman
sauber : sauber 2024 memories is cooking very well
aston martin: at least alonso tried to score points but aston is aston for stroll they want to do same as leclrec but in worst position
 
K
Again really good race!! great pace for oscar and max too, but max should have given the position back.. great job for charles too, while i expected more from george and mercedes to be honest. Oscar on top of the standings now, but lando and max are there, nice one.
 
Peter Conway
Premium
I thought that Crofty the Clown and Blatently Biased Brundle were singing their 'Norris men' songs a little too loud.
Leclerc did great job, Verstappen was as caught out by the 'GO' lights as I was, as for the penalty, I think the stewards should have told him to give the place up instead of just handing out a penalty because it was pretty close to a 50/50 thing, and it was the first corner of the first lap.Piastry did all he needed to and was on the ball at the lights.
George lookid like he was on for a podium but just dropped further and further back.
There a number of times when I thought Norris was over the white pit entry and exit line, and Brundle raised it and just brushed it aside in a sweep...
Again their commentary was just explanations pats on the backs of British drivers, and very little in the way of race commentary... Murray would turn in his grave.

Edit: typo.
 
Last edited:
eg01st
Peter Conway said:
I thought that Crofty the Clown and Blatently Biased Brundle were singing their 'Norris men' songs a little too loud.
Leclerc did great job, Verstappen was as caught out by the 'GO' lights as I was, as for the penalty, I think the stewards should have told him to give the place up instead of just handing out a penalty because it was pretty close to a 50/50 thing, and it was the first corner of the first lap.Piastry did all he needed to and was on the ball at the lights.
George lookid like he was on for a podium but just dropped further and further back.
There a number of times when I thought Norris was over the white pit entry and exit line, and Brundle raised it and just brushed it aside in a sweep...
Again their commentary was just explanations pats on the backs of British drivers, and very little in the was of race commentary... Murray would turn in his grave.
Click to expand...
Glad I'm watching it on F1 TV, not Sky with Crofty screeching. Although Alex Jacques screams more and more with each season too.
 
Durge Driven
Premium
Peter Conway said:
I thought that Crofty the Clown and Blatently Biased Brundle were singing their 'Norris men' songs a little too loud.
Click to expand...

Liam gets double lol
FIA should have told team to give place back under safety car, that would have been the fair thing to do.

Brundle yeah
Max is guilty Lando is not guilty, nothing but attempting to influence decisions again.
They should stay out of it.

Go Max ! Go Oscar ! I Aussie ( shrugs)
When is McLaren going to start giving him preference, he deserves it.
Again they wanted to push Lando up and affect Oscar even though he is leading the race effectively. BS !
 
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markg88
Despite me not liking this track, I must admit that was an enjoyable race. I'm a massive Max (and Charles) fan but I do agree with the 1st corner penalty (maybe swapping places would have been more appropriate). Oscar made a better start and did 'a max on Max', no problem there. I:)
 
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Durge Driven
Premium
I think Lewis is more motivated by 2026 and new car.

“It’s obvious for everybody that at one stage you will have to make a choice between 2026 and 2025....."
Click to expand...

If you were Lewis where would you want all your eggs ? :coffee:
 
Durge Driven
Premium
markg88 said:
....if I was Lewis I'd want a dominant car again like I had for 8 years
Click to expand...

Well of course goes without saying ;)
The best way to hopefully do that is to throw everything at 2026 and imo Lewis knew that heading in.
 
D
Durge Driven said:
Well of course goes without saying ;)
The best way to hopefully do that is to throw everything at 2026 and imo Lewis knew that heading in.
Click to expand...
That looks like the Red Bull plan. Unfortunately for the Prancing Horse, they put a lot of effort changing the 2024 package to more suit Mr. Hamilton ffor 2025. The result might be an incrementally better car, but it has not met the challenge of even Mercedes, let alone Mclaren. Further, all the revamping equals money spent and time lost for 2026. I don't think we will see a Champions Trophy for either of the Team Scarlet drivers in 25, 26 & beyond.
 
K
eg01st said:
Glad I'm watching it on F1 TV, not Sky with Crofty screeching. Although Alex Jacques screams more and more with each season too.
Click to expand...
I too suscribe to F1 TV (for free practice and all the extras), but I watch the races on RDS (French-Canadian network, with excellent commentary) and I sometimes switch to TSN (English-Canadian network that broadcasts the Sky coverage) to get Brundle's analysis. (Jacques Villeneuve was also excellent a couple of weeks ago.) I don't find much difference between Croft and Jacques, they both scream way too often. No one ever replaced Murray Walker.
 
K
WALEAD1999 said:
williams : cooking this race very well beautiful points for sainz and albon

aston martin: at least alonso tried to score points but aston is aston for stroll they want to do same as leclrec but in worst position
Click to expand...
Williams better enjoy those point finishes. The team has announced it is stopping development on the current car and is concentrating fully on 2026. No more updates and there are still 19 races to go! This is going to be a looonnnggg season for Sainz and Albon.

Aston is probably also betting it all on 2026 and the first Newey car. If Aston Martin is serious about becoming a top team, it will have to get two new drivers. The nepo baby has to go, obviously, and Alonso will be 45 in 2026.
 
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P
About the start incident between Verstappen and Piastri – I watched it again, and here’s my updated take:


From what I saw, there was less than a car’s width between them — barely a wheel difference at best — when they went into the corner. Despite that, Piastri took the racing line as if Verstappen wasn’t even there, and actually came within centimeters of putting a third wheel off the track, just behind the white line.


Now, based on FIA guidelines, here's how it's usually assessed:


  • If a car is significantly ahead before the corner (usually more than half a car length), it's allowed to take the normal racing line.
  • However, if the other car is alongside, even partially (like having the front wheels near the other car’s sidepod), then both drivers are expected to leave room – it’s called "room to race".
  • Forcing a rival off track, or leaving them no space, can be penalized even without contact, depending on the context.

In this case, I really think Piastri should have left some space. Verstappen wasn’t divebombing, he was right there. And if instead of a runoff area there had been a wall, that move could've easily caused a crash.


So yeah, I still feel like it would’ve been more fair – and safer – for Piastri to widen his line just a bit. You can’t always drive like you're alone on track, especially on lap 1.


That’s my take – feel free to disagree! Did anyone else notice the same?
 
W
Premium
I think part of the argument was that Verstappen kept off the brakes in order to be alongside which put him in the position he was next to Piastri but he would have never made the corner cleanly. If he had braked enough for the corner he would not have been alongside. Did any of the telemetry get shown, I’ve only seen the highlights?
 
Peter Conway
Premium
Pazop said:
About the start incident between Verstappen and Piastri – I watched it again, and here’s my updated take:


From what I saw, there was less than a car’s width between them — barely a wheel difference at best — when they went into the corner. Despite that, Piastri took the racing line as if Verstappen wasn’t even there, and actually came within centimeters of putting a third wheel off the track, just behind the white line.


Now, based on FIA guidelines, here's how it's usually assessed:


  • If a car is significantly ahead before the corner (usually more than half a car length), it's allowed to take the normal racing line.
  • However, if the other car is alongside, even partially (like having the front wheels near the other car’s sidepod), then both drivers are expected to leave room – it’s called "room to race".
  • Forcing a rival off track, or leaving them no space, can be penalized even without contact, depending on the context.

In this case, I really think Piastri should have left some space. Verstappen wasn’t divebombing, he was right there. And if instead of a runoff area there had been a wall, that move could've easily caused a crash.


So yeah, I still feel like it would’ve been more fair – and safer – for Piastri to widen his line just a bit. You can’t always drive like you're alone on track, especially on lap 1.


That’s my take – feel free to disagree! Did anyone else notice the same?
Click to expand...
Like I said earlier, it was nearer a 50/50 thing, Oscar could have left more room but in his defence there was a corner on the left to look at too, and that in turn has an effect on your line through to the right hander.
Max on the other hand seemed to get caught out by the extraordinarily brief lights out time, and tried to make that back by braking later into the first corner.
Max should have been told by the FIA to give the place up in the safety car period, then we might have seen more of a race and I feel it would have been fairer, I still feel that Oscar would have won though he did all that he needed to do, Lando on the other hand was white lining past the pit entrance...(evident Lap 39), and in lap locked up and over the line... and was he over the line on the way out? none of this was discussed by the Clown and Brundle except for a "nah, that's fine"

I bet Brundle and Croft were peeved the Max got Driver of the Day :thumbsup:
 
mrzimdinamerlina
Peter Conway said:
I bet Brundle and Croft were peeved the Max got Driver of the Day :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Verstappen could crash in the formation lap and still get driver of the day thanks to his fans, so sucks to be them! Imagine how split the opinions between fans would be if they added fanboost to F1.
 
markg88
mrzimdinamerlina said:
........... Imagine how split the opinions between fans would be if they added fanboost to F1.
Click to expand...
The split of opinions is already very obvious... The majority of opinions are nothing but biased comment. I will admit to also having bias in my opinions but I will call it as I see it mostly. The opinions that are the most irritating to me are those that should have a signature of, for ex, "Max Verstappen Grrr Grrr" or "My driver is godlike and must not be criticised". I must admit it's fanboy comments that are more likely to make me react in a way I'm not exactly proud of. Intelligent, adult comments are rare on forums but welcome :)
 

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