2025 Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Preview

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Max Verstappen, Saudi Arabia 2025. Image: Red Bull Content Pool / Getty Images

Who Are You Supporting This Weekend?

  • Total voters
    91
  • Poll closed .
Moving across the Middle East, Formula One lands in Saudi Arabia to tackle the tumultuous semi-permanent street circuit in Jeddah, a circuit where driver comfort is a priority, and the walls are always millimetres away from grabbing a car and causing a significant accident.

Moving out of Bahrain, Oscar Piastri is now the odds-on favourite for the Drivers World Championship. The Aussie is now just three points behind teammate Lando Norris. Despite the struggles shown in Bahrain, Red Bull's Max Verstappen sits a comfortable third with acquaintance George Russell hot on the Dutchman's heels.

image_2025-04-18_145818150.png

Lando Norris, current Championship leader. Image: Formula One

Podium Prediction Game​

If you haven't seen it over the last few weeks, the 'Guess The Podium' game is here to stay for 2025! But this time, with a few minor changes. This year, we will split the game in half at the annual summer break, meaning there will be two sets of prizes up for grabs, each with its own separate prize.

The first half of the season will be to win a year's worth of Premium membership here on OverTake.gg, and the second half of the season will award you something extra special!

Guess The Podium Rules.png


If you are not aware of how the Guess The Podium game works here on OverTake, do not fear! Our fantastic community manager, @Christopher E, has created an easy-to-read graphic with a short explanation that you can find above.

Ten points will be awarded for guessing both the correct position and name, and five points will be awarded for guessing the correct name but the wrong position. As mentioned before, at the halfway point of the season, we will award the overall winner one year of Premium membership here on OverTake!

VOTE IN THE FORUM THREAD HERE!

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

Ferrari's new floor​

Debuted last weekend in Bahrain, the Ferrari's new aerodynamic floor did not exactly set the world on fire; if anything, it was a mild flame that was quickly extinguished by the Papaya dominance of Oscar Piastri in particular. However, around this Jeddah street circuit, could it be a different story?

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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari. Image: Formula One

Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc mentioned improvements in the car after the Bahrain Grand Prix. Team Principal Fred Vasseur has urged Ferrari to 'stay calm' after mixed fortunes in Bahrain.

"He had a very strong recovery today, a solid race that he came back P5. I think the race time compared to the top two, top three is almost similar. For me it was okay. Today he was very strong, consistent. Now with the field that we have, if you miss two or three-tenths in Quali because you do a mistake, you lose six or seven positions.” - Fred Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal
Click to expand...

Piastri's secret to fighting back from Melbourne​

The Aussie driver had a rough start to the year; however, despite being second in the driver's standings to McLaren teammate Lando Norris coming into Saudi Arabia, Piastri is the bookies' favourite to win the Drivers World Championship in 2025.

image_2025-04-18_170948690.png

McLaren's Oscar Piastri after a dominant performance last weekend in Bahrain. Image: Formula One

Piastri's rough start in Australia saw him reverse his McLaren MCL39 across the penultimate corner's grass in Melbourne like the tractor he had been driving on Jeremy Clarkson's farm just a few weeks prior to the season opener. With a start like this, it could have been easy for the Aussie to start spiralling his form, but the opposite has happened

Piastri has won in dominant fashion in both China and Bahrain this year, and what's the trick to bouncing back in this style? A strong mindset. With how Piastri has been attacking each race weekend, you can tell the young driver from Melbourne has made major steps forward since 2024.

"For me, the best way of trying to achieve that, especially at this early point in the year, is just by doing the best job you can each weekend and scoring the most points you can, then seeing where you end up towards the end of the year. - Oscar Piastri
Click to expand...

image_2025-04-18_172355225.png

Oscar Piastri, Bahrian 2025. Image: Formula One

Looking forward to this weekend's race in Saudi Arabia, Piastri will be looking to take the lead of the driver's World Championship away from his teammate Norris, who are you backing this weekend out of the Papaya duo?

When to watch the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix​

SessionTime (UTC)
Practice 218:00 - 19:00
Practice 314:30 - 15:30
Qualifying18:00 - 19:00
Race18:00

Who are you supporting in this weekend's event? Let us know in the poll above and 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

K
Ohh here we are, mclaren looking strong but i think the others will be there?.. by the way incredible to see gasly and alpine so competitive again, even p1 in fp1 xD
 
K
Ah also yuki on max's tail and on this difficult track, a bit surprising even though he then crashed lol
 
Last edited:
Peter Conway
Premium
Call me Petty, but what's with the order of the drivers above, it's can't be either current or last year Team championship position, it can't be current or last years driver championship position, is it perhaps just as you think of them, or is there a reason that Max 'the four on the trot and current world champion' is third in the list?...

as ever Petty Pete.
 
Connor Minniss
OverTake
Premium
Peter Conway said:
Call me Petty, but what's with the order of the drivers above, it's can't be either current or last year Team championship position, it can't be current or last years driver championship position, is it perhaps just as you think of them, or is there a reason that Max 'the four on the trot and current world champion' is third in the list?...

as ever Petty Pete.
Click to expand...
A very rough championship order, hence McLaren first, Red Bull second and Merc third etc etc, it most likely will continue to change with how the drivers standings are looking each week :)
 
Peter Conway
Premium
Connor Minniss said:
A very rough championship order, hence McLaren first, Red Bull second and Merc third etc etc, it most likely will continue to change with how the drivers standings are looking each week :)
Click to expand...
Yes...Very rough, Hulkenberg Gasley and Bearman all have 6 pionts standing mid in the championship running yet Alonso, Lawson, Doohan et all are far above them with no ponts to their names at all, and poor old Lance is nestled below his more illustrious team mate even though he's scored all 10 of Aston Martin's points this year!
 
Trebor901
Never been a Max fan but he sure is proving he doesn't need the best car to pull it out the bag.

As for Norris well what an idiot. Absolute bottle job. Piastri applies the slightest of pressure and he's cracked already.
 
Last edited:
Peter Conway
Premium
A fantastic job from Max, I can't see Norris making a podium from there, but you never know, Piastri is really the team leader at Mclaren, calm as a millpond that lad, and Georgie boy is getting that Merc up the front for consistant podiums... I recon another one this weekend.
 
Trebor901
Peter Conway said:
A fantastic job from Max, I can't see Norris making a podium from there, but you never know, Piastri is really the team leader at Mclaren, calm as a millpond that lad, and Georgie boy is getting that Merc up the front for consistant podiums... I recon another one this weekend.
Click to expand...
As much as I cannot stand Russell I can see him being world champion this year if Mclaren don't get behind Piastri and Red Bull don't get their act together
 
Last edited:
WALEAD1999
Zolazem said:
Should Hamilton retire?

A. Yes
B. Yes
Click to expand...
hamilton this year just like 2013 when he joined mercedes for the first time in 2014 he start dominace so give him a chance next year we will talk if hamilton should retire or no but now i guess not
 
Slapped
Premium
God I hate street circuits; they're simply not fit for purpose.

Two very very minor errors by two drivers lead to two wrecked cars, which under normal circumstances would have been totally survivable, and not even been considered as minor incidents.

On a normal circuit Yuki's incident wouldn't have even been noticeable.

As for Lando's situation, judging from the replays he wouldn't have even exceeded track limits on a proper circuit as he'd already corrected the slide, and was only going to go slightly wide. Also he may have still been able to put in a banker lap.

It beggars belief that the FIA can sanction races at tracks where a car can't get anywhere near exceeding track limits before being wrecked, and then leaving the car and driver directly in the path of other following high speed cars.

For a street circuit to be even remotely viable it's needs to have at least 2 cars width of space on either side of the track in all locations,

Given the above, my prediction for the winner of today's "race" is... Bernd Mayländer
 

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