2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Recap
Photo from Formula 1.
Henry Xue
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit, named the “fastest street track” on the Formula One calendar, is currently the third longest track behind Belgium and Las Vegas. With cars averaging around 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour), the track is designed to be extremely fast, having three consecutive DRS zones allowing the possibility of overtaking. Held at night, when temperatures are substantially colder than in the day, cars must maneuver across the most turn-heavy track on the calendar, with 27 sharp corners and high-speed straights. Mistakes are common; the grand prix has never seen a race without a safety car deployment since its debut in 2021. This sets up for a thrill of a watch, and this year’s annual race (held on April 20, 2025) did not disappoint. Here are the results and what we learned.
McLaren (188 Points)
Oscar Piastri [1st]
A dominant performance by Oscar Piastri allowed him to triumph at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Piastri had everything under control; he bravely overtook Hamilton and even matched Verstappen’s pace. It is now three wins out of the opening five races of the Formula One season, and he now leads the driver’s world championship for the first time in his career. His consistent output in achieving the podium presents himself as a solid case for this year’s championship.
Lando Norris [4th]
A substantial mistake by Lando Norris on Saturday resulted in him starting in P10. Nonetheless, Norris fought back and managed to obtain P4, overtaking Russell. However, this marks yet another week where Norris has found himself in a position having to make up for his own mistakes. He should not need to fight back week in and week out, and it continues to put pressure on his back in the race for the championship.
Mercedes (111 Points)
George Russell [5th] / Andrea Kimi Antonelli [6th]
Mercedes failed to continue their successful start to the campaign after Jeddah. The Mercedes drivers struggled to keep pace with their rivals in McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari. Even though they entered the grand prix in second place in the constructor’s championship and held the second quickest car in qualifying, none of their drivers managed to take pole position. Russell had complaints during the race, telling Sky Sports F1, “They were massively overheating.” Unless Mercedes address the temperature problems of their car, their season will be an excruciatingly long one.
Red Bull (89 Points)
Max Verstappen [2nd]
Max Verstappen was hit with a five-second time penalty on the first lap in the Jeddah race after hitting wheel-to-wheel with Piastri in Turn 2. The penalty saw him lose the lead to Piastri during his pit stop, which led him to, unfortunately, finish second place. Despite not having the fastest car, Verstappen continues to put up a good fight against McLaren’s “rocket ship” in the driver’s championship. Expect nothing less from the four-time Formula One world champion.
Yuki Tsunoda [19th | DNF]
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix ended quickly for Yuki Tsunoda after an unfortunate crash with Pierre Gasly in Turn 4. Although the crash was merely a “racing incident,” Tsunoda was deeply disappointed that he continued his streak of underwhelming performances in Jeddah. However, Tsunoda only has a few weeks of experience inside the RB21 car after the driver swap with Liam Lawson, so it is only right to give him some time before he starts performing. Regardless of how you look at it, Red Bull continues to struggle to have success in the second driver spot.
Ferrari (78 Points)
Charles Leclerc [3rd]
Ferrari has finally achieved a podium position in 2025, courtesy of Charles Leclerc. Leclerc began in fourth place and had a superb drive in medium tires. He managed to overtake Russell after the pit stop phase while keeping Norris at bay, allowing him to take third place. Ferrari continues to be an underdog contender for both championships, but it is going to take a lot from the Ferrari team and its drivers to achieve such a task.
Lewis Hamilton [7th]
The seven-time world champion had less of a fun trip in Jeddah. Hamilton started and finished seventh in Sunday’s grand prix. Although Hamilton stated that he made progress with the Ferrari car in Bahrain, his performances in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix showed otherwise. Hamilton declared: “Well, clearly, the car is capable of being P3, so… Charles [Leclerc] did a great job today, so I can’t blame the car.” The 40-year-old continues his season with mixed performances and results and holds seventh place in the drivers’ championship.
Williams (25 Points)
Carlos Sainz Jr. [8th] / Alex Albon [9th]
Williams had their second double points finish for the season after the race in Jeddah. Their excellent qualification propelled them to haul in six points, which moved Williams back to fifth place in the constructor’s championship. The team's success was highlighted by Carlos Sainz’s strategic move, which allowed Alex Albon to stay within the DRS range, thereby securing the points for Williams. They now lead in the battle of the midfield contingent.
Haas (20 Points)
Oliver Bearman [13th] / Esteban Ocon [14th]
Although Haas had strong performances by both drivers, they came out of the race in Jeddah without scoring any points. Ollie Berman and Esteban Ocon placed 13th and 14th respectively, which showed the limitations of the VF-25: its top speed. Ayao Komatsu, Haas’ team principal, said, “I think our result is a fair one. I think everyone has done their best, so we got the most out of what we have – but on this circuit with high-speed corners, sadly our performance wasn’t good enough.” Haas is now working on improving the car for Miami.
Aston Martin (10 Points)
Fernando Alonso [11th] / Lance Stroll [16th]
Aston Martin had a rather disappointing result, with both drivers unable to score crucial points in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Their performance in practice and qualifying for the Grand Prix showed the limitations of AMR25, with Lance Stroll eliminated in Q1 and Fernando Alonso needing three sets of new soft tires to progress to Q2. Alonso states, “We ran out of ideas at the moment,” with Aston Martin reluctant to throw resources on the current AMR25 rather than using it on the 2026 project.
RB (8 Points)
Isack Hadjar [10th] / Liam Lawson [12th]
It was a positive race weekend for the Racing Bulls as they scored a point with the VCARB in a physically and mentally demanding race in Jeddah. Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson had no prior experience on the race track, but they kept a good pace throughout the race. Hadjar had a superb drive, starting from P14, and clinched P10. Unfortunately for Lawson, he was given a ten-second penalty, which put him out of a position for points.
Alpine (6 Points)
Jack Doohan [17th] / Pierre Gasly [20th | DNF]
A weekend to forget for Alpine after a disappointing result in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Alpine had mixed fortunes coming up to the race, with Pierre Gasly setting the fastest time in FP1 and taking P9 in the starting grid, while Jack Doohan took P17. However, in an unfortunate turn of events, Gasly had an unlucky crash with Yuki Tsunoda on the opening lap, costing Alpine the chance of gaining points in Jeddah. Alpine looks ahead to Miami to turn things around.
Kick Sauber (6 Points)
Niko Hulkenberg [15th] / Gabriel Bortoleto [18th]
Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber ended the weekend with P15 for Nico Hulkenberg and P18 for Gabriel Bortoleto. It was a long, hard weekend for both drivers, but they managed to execute their strategies well. Although the final position does not reflect the effort the team has put in, Kick Sauber leaves Jeddah with valuable information to develop to C45. The team will regroup and be ready to come back stronger in Miami.
