#F1: @OscarPiastri cruises to #SaudiArabianGP victory.
Oscar Piastri, #81, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL39, celebrates on the podium after taking victory at the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Image credit to Lars Baron/LAT Images. Piastri Saudi Arabian GP Victory, Piastri McLaren Jeddah, F1 Jeddah GP Results, Saudi Arabian GP Results.
Piastri Saudi Arabian GP Victory – McLaren’s Oscar Piastri scored his third victory of the season at the Saudi Arabian GP ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 2.843 seconds as Charles Leclerc claimed the final podium place keeping Lando Norris at bay.
Piastri claimed the World Driver’s Championship lead over McLaren team-mate Norris by 10 points (99-89) after his back-to-back victories in the Middle East.
When the 50-lap Saudi Arabian GP began, pole-sitter Verstappen got an equally solid start with Piastri as they ran wheel-to-wheel into the opening corner as the former ran off track into turn one, but the Dutchman remained in-front.
Replays showed Piastri did managed to get the nose of his MCL39 racer in-front before the apex of the corner as Verstappen went off the throttle into turn one as he ran into the run-off area to stay ahead of the McLaren.
Behind them both Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly collided into the first corner as the former with his front-right clipped the latter’s rear sending the Alpine into a spin and hitting the wall along with Tsunoda briefly touching the wall.
Gasly was the initial retiree of the race as Tsunoda managed to continue on.
The safety car was deployed after the incident as Alpine’s Jack Doohan, Haas’s Esteban Ocon and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto stopped for a fresh set of the harder compound.
Tsunoda then came in to retire his car.
The stewards noted the incident between Piastri and Verstappen where the latter left the track and gained an advantage.
Verstappen reported to his team that he was forced off the track by Piastri.
Piastri said to his team that Verstappen was never going to make the corner.
When the race resumed on lap four, after Gasly’s A525 entry was cleared. Race leader Verstappen got a solid run out of the final corner as behind them Mercedes’ George Russell was closely behind Piastri on the run-down into turns one and two. Piastri managed to keep the Mercedes at bay.
The stewards gave Verstappen a five-second-timed-penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
On the fifth tour, Verstappen’s lead was over 1.2 seconds and out of DRS range from Piastri with Russell third, Leclerc fourth, Antonelli fifth, Hamilton sixth, Sainz seventh, Norris who started on hards in eighth as the other Williams of Alexander Albon was ninth as Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar completing the top ten.
Meanwhile Piastri got back within DRS range of Verstappen as the Australian posted the fastest lap of the race.
Antonelli was another in DRS range of Leclerc’s Ferrari in the fight for P4 as further behind them Norris was also in DRS range of Sainz’s FW47 in the battle for seventh.
Championship leader Norris then did make the move stick on the Spaniard with the slipstream and DRS making a move on the inside of the Williams into turn one to take the position.
The turn five incident involving Tsunoda and Gasly is currently investigated by the stewards.
Out-front race leader Verstappen’s lead over Piastri was hovering over the 1.1 second mark – with the question of the undercut and how powerful it would be remained to be seen at this stage.
Russell was not a further 2.2 second adrift, but nearly two seconds clear of Leclerc who still had Antonelli for company.
Whilst Piastri was still bottled behind Verstappen and back into DRS range, Norris was doing his best to chase down Hamilton’s SF-25 entry in the battle for sixth.
Meanwhile into the final corner Norris passed the Ferrari of Hamilton on the inside into the final corner, but with DRS assistance, Hamilton made the move back on the McLaren to snatch the place back.
Further back, RB’s Liam Lawson made his way ahead of Haas’s Oliver Bearman to move up into 12th place.
One more at the final corner Norris then overtook Hamilton to grab sixth place, but the latter once again with DRS passes the McLaren just before the end of the main-straight again to reclaim the place.
This time, with DRS assistance, Norris made the move stick as he passed Hamilton on the main-straight to move up into sixth place.
The 16th tour saw race leader Verstappen who still has the five-second-timed-penalty over him with his lead over Piastri at 1.5 seconds with Russell holding third, Leclerc fourth, Antonelli fifth, Norris closing in on the Mercedes and in sixth, Hamilton seventh, Sainz eighth, Albon ninth as Hadjar rounded out the top ten.
No one had DRS in the top 10 at this stage of proceeding as the race settled slightly. Norris had 2.9 seconds to make up to Antonelli in-front, so he had a little bit of fresh air to drive into.
Alonso was the man to watch with DRS, back down in P12 and chasing down RB’s Lawson.
Hamilton reported his SF-25 racer was less grippy.
Verstappen’s gap on lap 18 was at 2.263 over Piastri. The question was is the latter cooling his tyres? Or starting to drop off. With the pit-stop window just around the corner, there was not much free air for the leaders to fall back into.
Meanwhile, Norris breezed past the Mercedes of Antonelli with DRS assistance to take fifth place.
Further down, Bearman was the first to pit for his fresh set of hards as Piastri was told by his McLaren to pit.
On the next tour, second-placed Piastri pitted for his fresh set of hards, suffering a slower 3.4 second stop and the Australian came out in sixth place behind Hamilton.
Antonelli also stopped for his fresh set of hards and emerged in 11th place behind Hadjar.
Out-front race leader Verstappen was told to push.
A tour later on the 21st lap, Russell came in to react to Piastri and the former on his new set of hards came out in seventh place behind Sainz.
Piastri then with a bold pass overtook Hamilton through turn 22 to sweep into third place as race leader Verstappen came in to pit and serve his five-second-timed-penalty.
The Dutchman emerged with his fresh hard rubber to be behind Hamilton in fifth and Piastri crucially had the net lead.
On lap 24, the yet-to-pit Leclerc was 3.423 seconds clear of Norris who was also yet-to-stop, Piastri was third as Verstappen passed Hamilton in the final corner as the latter was told to box.
Hamilton on his fresh set of the C3 hards, came out in eighth place behind Antonelli’s Silver Arrow.
At half-race distance, Leclerc’s lead over Norris was at 3.499 seconds with Piastri third, Verstappen fourth, Russell fifth, Hadjar sixth, Antonelli seventh, Hamilton eighth as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg completed the top ten.
Further behind, Alonso just attempted a move on Bortoleto, as the duo made contact. Alonso is the Brazilian’s manager. Could be an interesting chat after the race between the duo.
A tour later, Alonso overtook Bortoleto for 16th and reported the car was ok.
A Safety Car would have been handy for Ferrari at this stage. Leclerc’s mediums were holding on well and was lapping around the same times as Norris.
Piastri was 5.3s behind his team mate Norris and Verstappen a further 4.3s adrift.
On the 28th lap, Sainz had DRS on Hulkenberg, as he tried to recover back into the points after his pit stop. The Spaniard then made the move stick to move up into the points.
On lap 30, Leclerc pitted from the lead and with a solid two second stop, emerged on his fresh set of hards in fifth place behind Russell’s F1 W16 entry.
Norris was now leading the Grand Prix from tenth on the grid, but he was still yet to pit at this stage.
A tour later, with the slipstream and DRS on the main-straight, Sainz made the move on Stroll on the run-down to turn one to take P9.
The story at this stage was when will Norris pit and for mediums or hards? The answer was likely behind Russell but with much fresher tyres.
Meanwhile on the 33rd tour, Leclerc was closing in on fourth-placed Russell with the striking distance in three laps.
In fresh air, race leader Norris was still running solid on his harder tyres whilst others were struggling for grip at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, but Norris seemed to have driven through any problems and was lapping on par with team mate Piastri.
Further back, Antonelli down in sixth just brushed the wall. But the Italian got away with it.
On lap 35, Norris was told to box and bolted on a set of the C4 yellow-marked mediums and came out in clear air behind Leclerc.
Replays showed Norris lock up as he entered pit-lane. Further back Hadjar also stopped and came out in tenth place behind Albon.
Aston Martin’s Stroll at this stage of proceedings was the sole driver to have not pitted yet as the Canadian was running in 11th.
Piastri’s lead over Verstappen was 4.5 seconds with Russell a further six seconds behind but had Leclerc for company.
Norris had to make up 5.6 seconds to get back to the Ferrari and beyond with the podium very much up for grabs for those three drivers.
On lap 38 with DRS on the main-straight Leclerc made a move around the outside of the Mercedes before reaching turn one to go up into third place.
The gap between the front two had been stable pretty much since the pit stops. Piastri pulled it out to 4.6 seconds and then held it there as the McLaren driver began to manage his tyres and temperatures.
Norris’s pit exit incident was noted by the race stewards.
Norris however with DRS assistance on the main-straight, swiftly overtook Russell around the outside before reaching turn one to jump up into fourth place as further behind them both Haas of Ocon and Bearman switched positions with the latter in 13th as he chases down the Aston Martin of Alonso.
Meanwhile, the race stewards reported no further investigation for fourth-placed Norris’s pit exit line crossing investigation.
In eighth place, Sainz had dropped back to keep Albon in his DRS range, as the latter worked hard to keep a fresher shod Hadjar behind.
On lap 45, third-placed Leclerc just took a second out of Verstappen last time around. The Ferrari was starting to work again, as Hamilton began to catch Antonelli for sixth place.
As for Norris, he was 2.8 seconds behind Leclerc and was not closing quickly enough.
A tour later, however, Norris ate a second out of Leclerc’s gap as the mediums on the McLaren started to come alive. It was sitting at 1.9 seconds in the fight for the final podium place.
All eyes were on Norris on lap 48 as he was trying to limit his damage in his quest in the championship fight, with gap at 1.8 seconds to third-placed Leclerc as it held again.
Having charged his battery, Norris took half a second out of Leclerc. The gap is 1.2 seconds, and Norris needed a mighty lap here to get into DRS range on the final lap.
Up front, Piastri remained 3.2 seconds in-front of Verstappen and cruising for victory as he came up behind Hulkenberg, one last hurdle to lap.
Piastri crossed the line to take victory number three of the season at the Saudi Arabian GP and the championship lead and reached the chequered flag by 2.843 seconds over Verstappen as Leclerc held on to keep third place ahead of Norris.
The Mercedes’ duo followed as Russell and Antonelli finished fifth and sixth respectively as Hamilton was next in the other SF-25 entry in seventh.
The Williams FW47 entries of Sainz and Albon were eighth and ninth respectively whilst RB’s Hadjar rounded out the final points place in tenth.
Aston Martin’s Alonso finished outside the top ten in 11th place and in-front of Lawson who took 12th in the other RB as both Haas VF-25’s of Bearman and Ocon crossed the line in 13th and 14th respectively.
Sauber’s Hulkenberg reached the chequered flag 15th and ahead of Aston Martin’s Stroll who placed 16th and Alpine’s Doohan who was 17th.
Bortoleto brought up the rear in the other Sauber.
2025 Saudi Arabian GP – The Top Three
2025 Saudi Arabian GP Winner – Oscar Piastri, #81, McLaren Formula 1 Team, Mercedes, MCL39 – (25 Points):
“Looking for a couch! It was a pretty tough race. Very happy to have won. Made my case into Turn 1, it was tricky to follow – I couldn’t stay with Max at the end of the first stint, I chewed up my tyres. We still need a bit more; Max was a little bit too close for my liking. Once I got on the inside, I was not coming out of Turn 1 in second. In the end that is what got me the race, so very happy with the work we do on the starts.”
2nd Place – Max Verstappen, #1, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Honda-RBPT, RB21 – +2.843s (18 Points):
“I’m going to keep it quite short, I want to say a big thank you to the fans. I love the track here; it is what it is, and I’ll see you in Miami.”
3rd Place – Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-25, +8.104s (15 Points):
“In Qualifying we don’t manage to extract more out the car. But I’m very happy with the race, we maximised everything. I never expected to finish [P3], I thought this race was about defending from the cars behind like Kimi [Antonelli]. We need to keep pushing and hopefully upgrades are coming soon.”
Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2025 Race Results Classification (50 Laps)
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 50 | 1:21:06.758 | 25 |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 50 | +2.843s | 18 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 50 | +8.104s | 15 |
| 4 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 50 | +9.196s | 12 |
| 5 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 50 | +27.236s | 10 |
| 6 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 50 | +34.688s | 8 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 50 | +39.073s | 6 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 50 | +64.630s | 4 |
| 9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 50 | +66.515s | 2 |
| 10 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 50 | +67.091s | 1 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 50 | +75.917s | |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 50 | +78.451s | |
| 13 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 50 | +79.194s | |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 50 | +99.723s | |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 49 | +1 lap | |
| 16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 49 | +1 lap | |
| 17 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | 49 | +1 lap | |
| 18 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 49 | +1 lap | |
| NC | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1 | DNF | |
| NC | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 0 | DNF | |
| * Provisional results. | ||||||
https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2025/races/1258/saudi-arabia/race-result
Click here for the 2025 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructor’s Championship Standings
Round six of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the Miami International Autodrome in Miami, Florida, United States for the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2025 from Friday May 2-Sunday May 4 2025.
