FORMULA 1
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 Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Oscar Piastri wins the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen finishing second and Charles Leclerc in third place. Max Verstappen picked up a five-second penalty on the first lap for leaving the track and gaining an advantage over Oscar Piastri, as his teammate collided with Pierre Gasly on the first lap, bringing out the yellow flag and ending both Yuki and Pierre's race. Oscar Piastri moves into the lead of the drivers championship, ten points ahead of Lando Norris. Race Facts
 Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Max Verstappen started on pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, Isack Hadjar and Nico Hulkenberg all started on the hard compound tyre, with the majority of the field starting on the medium tyre compound. Max Verstappen started on pole position and just managed to remain in the lead of the race into the first corner after running wide in a battle with Oscar Piastri. This was noted by race control, and Max Verstappen received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an unfair advantage. The first lap hadn't even finished before a full safety car was deployed as Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda touched briefly, but it was enough to send the Alpine into the wall. Yuki managed to get his car turned around and going again. Esteban Ocon, Jack Doohan, Gabriel Borteloto and Yuki Tsunoda all stopped on the hard compound tyre for an early pit stop. However, Red Bull was forced to retire the car. The safety car ended on lap four with Max Verstappen remaining in the lead at the safety car restart with Piastri and Russell very close behind him. At the start of the race, Norris moved up two places into eight, Hamilton into sixth ahead of Sainz, Albon into ninth, Alonso into tenth, and Hadjar into 11th after Yuki and Gasly were out of the race.  Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Lando Norris was moving down the field and overtook Sainz for seventh with an overtake on lap six. Further forward, Oscar Piastri was keeping on the back of Max Verstappen within the DRS range. Drivers were already struggling to cool their cars on lap 11, with the dirty air, humid temperatures and the cars being so close together. This, however, didn't seem to stop Lando Norris as he was closing up to the DRS range of Lewis Hamilton, and he managed to get past briefly on the last corner. however, Hamilton passed the McLaren once again on the start/finish straight and it was Hamilton who remained in front on lap 13. Further behind, Liam Lawson overtook Ollie Bearman for 12th place, with the RB looking promising for race pace. Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton's battle continued for two laps, with Norris eventually getting the job done on the start/finish straight on lap 15, moving into sixth place.  Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Max Verstappen tried to build as much of a lead as possible over Oscar Piastri before pitting and serving his five-second penalty as the medium tyre runners moved towards the pit stop window. Lando Norris was closing onto the back of Kimi Antonelli and managed to overtake the Mercedes driver on lap 19. Ollie Bearman and was the first to pit in the open tyre window. Piastri pitted for hard tyres on lap 20, but it was a slow stop, with Verstappen pushing hard to create a gap in front. Piastri rejoined the track in sixth, as Antonelli also pitted and came back out in 11th. Russell pitted on lap 21 from third onto hard tyre and rejoined the track in seventh place. As Lawson also pitted. Piastri passed Hamilton in Turn 22 for fourth just as Max Verstappen pitted and served his five-second penalty. Rejoining the track in fifth, with Leclerc leading the Grand Prix but Piastri in the net lead. Verstappen was on a mission to get past Lewis Hamilton and pushing further forward, but being held up by the Ferrari. Verstappen makes a move around Hamilton, but Hamilton pits with Verstappen moving into fourth place, 3.8s behind Piastri. Piastri runs a lot faster. Borteloto moved under, breaking, and Alonso almost came together, but Alonso gave the space back. Alonso gets past on lap 26. On lap 30, Charles Leclerc was still leading the race on his medium tyres, but he had yet to pit and wasn't losing lap time. Lando Norris was in second, also yet to pit, but started on the hard compound tyres. Leclerc pitted with a 2.0s stop on lap 30, changing to the hard compound tyres and rejoining the track in fifth. Norris moved into the race lead but was yet to pit, followed by Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar (yet to pit), Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Jack Doohan, Ollie Bearman and Gabriel Borteloto.  Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Norris was extending his lead with Oscar 2.3 seconds behind, with Norris yet to pit, but Oscar was moving into the dirty air of Norris. Norris finally pits on lap 34 onto the medium compound tyres and rejoins the track in fifth behind Charles Leclerc. Charles Leclerc was flying, overtaking George Russell for the final podium place. Lando Norris was noted, but later ruled that no further investigation was needed for crossing the line at the pit exit. Meanwhile, on track, Norris overtook Russell for fourth place. On lap 42 of 50, Oscar Piastri was leading the race with Max Verstappen, who only managed to keep 4.1 seconds behind the Australian driver. Team orders came into play, with Sainz dropping back slightly to keep Alex Albon within DRS range of him and keep Hadjar behind. Kick Sauber swapped their drivers in P15 and 16. Norris tries really hard to catch Leclerc for third place but doesn't quite manage it. Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, followed by Max Verstappen in second place and Charles Leclerc in third place. Lando Norris only manages fourth, with George Russell fifth and Kimi Antonelli sixth.  Ferrari Media Full Race Classification1) Oscar Piastri 2) Max Verstappen +2.843 3) Charles Leclerc +8.104 4) Lando Norris +9.196 5) George Russell +27.236 6) Kimi Antonelli +34.688 7) Lewis Hamilton +39.073 8) Carlos Sainz +64.630 9) Alex Albon +66.515 10) Isack Hadjar +67.091 11) Fernando Alonso +75.917 12) Liam Lawson +78.451 13) Oliver Bearman +79.194 14) Esteban Ocon +99.723 15) Nico Hulkenberg +1 Lap 16) Lance Stroll 17) Jack Doohan 18) Gabriel Bortoleto DNF Yuki Tsunoda DNF Pierre Gasly Oscar Piastri wins his third race of the season in the McLaren, he said: "I’m looking for a couch, it was a pretty tough race. I’m very happy to have obviously won, I made the difference at the start and made my case in to Turn One and that was enough. "It was really tricky to follow out there, I couldn’t really stay with Max Verstappen at the end of the first stint and I just chewed up my tyres. The clean air was nice after the pit stop, it was a clean race and we did the parts we needed to right. "We still needed a bit more, Max [Verstappen] was a bit too close for our liking but a great race and a great weekend." On the start: "Once I got on the inside I wasn’t coming out of Turn One in second. I tried my best and obviously the stewards had to get involved, but I thought I was far enough and in the end that's what got me the race. "I'm very happy with all the work we've been doing on the starts and that's what won us the race for us today." On the physicality of this race: "That was one of our biggest upgrades this week, the drinks working. "It’s always a tough race around here, it’s a little bit later into the year so I think it's a little bit warmer and a little bit humid, definitely one of the toughest races I've had in my career so I'm happy I could come out on top in it."  Written by Anny Wooldridge
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 Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Max Verstappen clinches pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix under the lights in Jeddah. In a dramatic qualifying, Lando Norris suffered a hefty crash on his first lap in Q3, and Oscar Piastri missed out on pole by one-hundredths of a second. Lando Norris topped the timesheet in Free Practice Three earlier in the day, followed by Oscar Piastri and George Russell.  Ferrari Media Free Practice ThreeTop Ten Results 1) Lando Norris 1:27.489 2) Oscar Piastri +0.024 3) George Russell +0.627 4) Max Verstappen +0.845 5) Charles Leclerc +0.883 6) Alex Albon +0.900 7) Carlos Sainz +1.081 8) Pierre Gasly +1.136 9) Yuki Tsunoda +1.181 10) Kimi Antonelli +1.190 Lando Norris topped the timesheet in the final practice session, followed by Oscar Piastri and George Russell. The practice session took place in the 30-degree sunshine at 16:30 local time. Most drivers stayed in the garages during the early part of the session, except Gabriel Bortoleto, who took to the track immediately after a fuel leak stopped his running in FP2. Jack Doohan was the first to set a lap time on soft tyres, with Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman doing the same. The Aston Martins opted for medium tyre running. Lewis Hamilton headed out onto the track ten minutes into the session, as did Charles Leclerc, with the rest of the drivers following shortly after. Drivers ended the session by running on soft tyres for 17 minutes. Norris set a lap time of 1:27.489s clear of Oscar Piastri by 0.024s.  Ferrari Media QualifyingQ1Out in Q1 16) Lance Stroll 17) Jack Doohan 18) Nico Hulkenberg 19) Esteban Ocon 20) Gabriel Bortoleto The McLaren entered the session as favourites, with many people saying it was between Oscar and Lando for pole. Ocon was the first out in Q1, underway under the lights in Jeddah. Ocon was quickly followed by the rest of the drivers all out on the soft tyre compound. Piastri was the first to top the timesheets after the first runnings with a time of 1m 28.019s, followed by Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Norris took the top spot from Piastri just as Hadjar had a moment, reporting that he had hit the wall. Doohan, Gasly, Ocon, Lawson and Bortoleto were in the bottom five as the minutes counted down. Gasly had an issue as he left the garage with a tyre warmer still on his front right tyre, with a member of the crew having the remove. Verstappen topped the timesheets with a 1m 27.778s lap time, with Hamilton finding himself on the bubble but managed to put in a lap time good enough to make it through. Stroll, Doohan, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Bortoleto were knocked out in Q1.  Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Q2Out in Q2 11) Alex Albon 12) Liam Lawson 13) Fernando Alonso 14) Isack Hadjar 15) Oliver Bearman Alex Albon was the first out on track in Q2, with Lawson being noted for an unsafe release in the pit lane, but the stewards later dismissed it. Norris topped the timesheet during the first few runs with a lap time of 1m 27.481s, with a fourth-hundredths clear of Verstappen. Verstappen, however, was on the radio asking the team to check the plank of his car after he hit a kerb. Antonelli was on the bubble but improved to fifth, with Sainz in sixth and Hamilton was at risk. During the final running, Hamilton put in a lap time good enough to make it through, as Alex Albon was moved into 11th, missing out on Q1 by 0.007s. Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman were knocked out in Q2.  Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Q3Starting Top Ten 1) Max Verstappen 1:27.294 2) Oscar Piastri 1:27.304 3) George Russell 1:27.407 4) Charles Leclerc 1:27.670 5) Kimi Antonelli 1:27.866 6) Carlos Sainz 1:28.164 7) Lewis Hamilton 1:28.201 8) Yuki Tsunoda 1:28.204 9) Pierre Gasly 1:28.367 10) Lando Norris DNF Both McLarens were first out on track and Oscar Piastri was the first to set a lap time. However, just as Oscar crossed the finish line to end his lap, Lando Norris had a small moment over the kerbs, which sent him into the barriers at the exit of Turn 5, ending his session and bringing out the red flag. Lando reported that he was ok. With just over eight minutes left in the session, the clock started, and everyone got back onto the track again. It looked like Oscar was on track for pole position, with all drivers opting to do just one flying lap in a one-lap shoot-out. Russell was the first to put himself into P1 but was knocked out by Piastri and then Verstappen at the very last moment, with Verstappen taking pole by 0.010s. Max Verstappen took pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with Oscar Piastri in second, George Russell in third, Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli rounding out the top five. "[I'm] very happy," said Verstappen. "I definitely didn’t expect to be on pole here, especially after FP3 looking at how the whole weekend was. The car came alive in the night, we made some final changes and it was a lot more enjoyable to drive, the grip was coming to me and around here a Qualifying lap is extremely difficult because of all the walls, you need to try and nail it. "It’s really satisfying to be first here in Qualifying which is of course the best position for tomorrow, even though I think tomorrow in the race it will be tough to keep them behind but we’re going to give it a good go."  Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Written by Anny Wooldridge
 Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Pierre Gasly topped Free Practice One, and Lando Norris topped the timesheet for Free Practice Two. Due to a fuel leak, Gabriel Bortoleto didn't participate in Free Practice Two. Yuki Tsunoda ended Free Practice Two with a trip into the barrier after clipping the wall on the inside of the final corner.  Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Free Practice OneTop Ten Results 1) Pierre Gasly 1:29.239 2) Lando Norris +0.007 3) Charles Leclerc +0.070 4) Oscar Piastri +0.102 5) Alex Albon +0.367 6) George Russell +0.379 7) Carlos Sainz +0.540 8) Lewis Hamilton +0.576 9) Max Verstappen +0.579 10) Yuki Tsunoda +0.582 Pierre Gasly topped the timesheets in the first practice session of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, followed by Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. The first free practice session took place at 16:30 local time, with hot and humid conditions. The majority of the drivers took to the track at the start of the session, utilising the medium tyres for the first part of the hour-long session. The session had some very close encounters with the walls by Gasly and Hamilton. Piastri was also experiencing problems with his drink leaking into his helmet. George Russell topped the timesheet for the first few runs with a lap time of 1m 29.674, just 0.306s in front of Lando Norris. In the soft tyre running, Norris went the fastest with a lap time of 1m 29.246s, in front of Russell three-tenths behind and Piastri four-tenths behind him. Gasly jumped to the top of the timesheet seven-thousandths of a second quicker than Norris. Gasly remained unbeaten for the rest of the session. Liam Lawson was investigated after the session for allegedly entering the painted area between the pitlane and the track.  Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Free Practice TwoTop Ten Results 1) Lando Norris 1:28.267 2) Oscar Piastri +0.163 3) Max Verstappen +0.280 4) Charles Leclerc +0.482 5) Carlos Sainz +0.675 6) Yuki Tsunoda +0.696 7) George Russell +0.706 8) Pierre Gasly +0.839 9) Nico Hulkenberg +0.926 10) Alex Albon +0.953 Lando Norris topped the timesheet during the second practice session, which took place under the floodlights at 20:00 local time. The session was cooler and a good representative of the evening conditions. Norris topped the timesheets in the session's opening stages, setting a lap time of 1m 29.272s, just short of Gasly's fastest time from FP1. Piastri wasn't far behind him, in fact just 0.001s on the medium tyres. Traffic was an issue in FP2, with Norris held up by Verstappen and Alex Albon impeded by Lewis Hamilton, an incident that was passed to the stewards. As the session approached the 20-minute mark, Leclerc moved into the top spot before the drivers switched to the soft tyre compound. Carlos Sainz, Verstappen and Piastri all had a turn at the top spot before Norris set a benchmark of 1m 28.340s but then improved with a 1m 28.267s. Piastri finished in second, with Verstappen in third, and Leclerc and Sainz rounded out the top five. Tsunoda finished sixth in his Red Bull but clipped the wall on the inside at the final turn, breaking his suspension, which sent him into the barrier on the exit. The session finished with one minute left after the red flag and drivers scrambled to take practice starts. Gabriel Bortoleto suffered a fuel leak on his Kick Sauber and could not participate in the session.  Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool Written by Anny Wooldridge
 Credit: Nur Photo Formula One is once again to go racing this coming weekend for round five of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship, which will take place in Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. Jeddah has been a constant feature of the Formula One calendar since it made its debut in the World Championship towards the end of the 2021 season and that iconic championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Following the past two weekends with plenty of action in Japan and Bahrain, the round at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit will be the conclusion of the first 2025 triple header, with more to come throughout the rest of the World Championship. The battle in the drivers' championship is extremely tight as the top four in the standings are separated by just 14 points and three different teams find themselves represented. Lando Norris leads his teammate Oscar Piastri at the top of the standings by just three points despite Piastri winning last time out in Bahrain and winning one more Grand Prix than Norris in the first four rounds. Max Verstappen finds himself third in the standings eight points back with George Russell fourth in the standings and just 14 points of the championship lead. A look at the track: Jeddah Corniche Circuit - Saudi Arabian Grand PrixFollowing the brilliant Bahrain International Circuit, which has one of the oldest surfaces out of all tracks in the 2025 calendar, jumping into Jeddah we find one of the newest circuits across the season. Only the Miami Grand Prix and Las Vegas Grand Prix had their first Grand Prix after the first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2021, which saw the penultimate round to one of the most iconic championship battles in Formula One history - Lewis Hamilton vs Max Verstappen. The circuit has uniqueness for its many corners, tight twisting and flowing nature making it one of the highest average speeds circuit in the entire calendar. Add in the features of the narrowing street circuit walls and it also becomes one of the most challenging across the campaign. Formula One goes racing round the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and for the first time in the history of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, it will play host to round five in a world championship with having held round two of the championship for the last three seasons consecutively. With the circuit itself having more corners than any other on the calendar (27), the Jeddah Corniche Circuit has a lap distance of 6.174km. With 50 racing laps to come in Sunday's Grand Prix the race distance is 308.45km. As has been the same since 2021, this tight circuit has three DRS zones which in theory gives a great prospect for overtaking on this circuit and as we have seen in previous seasons cars can make passes if the drivers are precise enough and close enough to pass. With the street circuit, there is always a threat of a Safety Car or a Red Flag which could be a headache for the strategy teams to keep a lid on due to the unexpected nature of incidents occurring in Jeddah. The lap record around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit was set in the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix by Lewis Hamilton with his 2021 car. Together they managed to set a 1:30.734. Will that be beaten this weekend? 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship: Round 5 - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix session times
 Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal Oscar Piastri wins the Bahrain Grand Prix after dominating all weekend.  Katie Shepherd
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Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal
Writer - F1 Journal
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