Saudi Arabia '25: Race Recap

After an uncertain weekend for many, the end of the first triple header of the season had finally arrived with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The grid’s front runners Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri battled through the first corner. Verstappen went wide and ended up in P1 ahead of Piastri, claiming he was pushed off by the Aussie driver. Piastri relayed, “He needs to give that back, I was ahead” after Verstappen held his position in 1st. A 5 second penalty was handed to Max by the FIA, who responded with “Well that is ******* lovely!”. The decision left him unmistakably angry, even after the race, where Red Bull continued to vouch for a wrongful decision. The FIA stuck by their word and even noted that the penalty could have easily been worse.

Back to the race’s first lap, old friends Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly collided in a racing incident at turn 4. The exchange ended with them both in the wall, and was an immediate end to Pierre’s race. Yuki managed to continue on back to the pits where (after a thorough check) his car was then retired also. Both drivers were okay, and the crash was clearly a genuine result of good, hard racing. A safety car was deployed, and many drivers took the opportunity to change their tyres (even though it was only the 3rd lap). 

The race resumed and Lando Norris (who had moved up 2 places since the race start) was gaining on Carlos Sainz, and finally passed him on the 7th lap. A battle between the championship leader Lando Norris and 7 time world champion Lewis Hamilton ensued on lap 12 as the McLaren driver weaved his way up the field. Hamilton's precise use of DRS zones wasted Norris' multiple attempts, that later revealed to be a huge setback in his race. This meant that even after Norris overtook him and kept the position, his overused tyres and lost seconds from the battle had a huge impact (especially when protecting Hamilton's teammate's position).

On lap 19, Piastri was ordered to box in an attempt to undercut Vertsappen. A 3.4 second stop wasn't ideal, but he came out behind Hamilton in 5th on the hard tyres that had be working well for Norris. The P3 qualifier George Russell came out of the pits into 7th, whilst Verstappen desperately tried to pull away and offset his upcoming penalty. However, his stop moved him down past Piastri and Hamilton, who were locked in an intense battle. At the 22nd turn, Piastri pulled off a ballsy overtake and passed the Ferrari driver on the outside, claiming P4 for himself. Charles Leclerc was out in front leading the race (still not having pitted), but the competition powered on behind him as Verstappen edged closer to Hamilton's Ferrari.

Gabriel Bortoleto had a near miss with his manager Fernando Alonso at the halfway point of the Grand Prix when the Aston Martin overtook on the outside line as he moved towards the wall. Alonso relayed to his team, "Bwoah that was close, so close. Check the car". Minimal damage meant it didn't have a big impact on his race, but it must have been an awkward exchange after the race for the close pair!

The race leader Leclerc went into the pits on lap 30 and arrived back on track behind Russell. At this point the top 5 began to really pull away from the rest of the grid, with Antonelli in 6th over 9 seconds away from Leclerc. Sainz moved up into 9th after clearing Stroll, looking to secure his 2nd set of points for the team. The 2 Williams drivers were looking to make their way through the mid table, protecting each other's positions with the careful use of DRS. Things weren't going as well for VCARB however, as Liam Lawson was given a 10 second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage for his overtake on Jack Doohan. The penalty left him in 12th for his 3rd race in 2025 for the Red Bull sister team. Haas drivers Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon were ordered to swap positions, as well as the 2 Sauber drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg. Lance Stroll later interjected between the latter to push up to P16.

As the last 10 laps began, Norris set the fastest lap of the race as he pulled away from Russell and set his sights on Leclerc in P3. He kept closing the gap and with 3 laps to go it had lessened to 1.7 seconds, with Verstappen's gap to Piastri closing to 3.2 seconds. In the last lap Norris chased after Leclerc, craving the DRS advantage, but the McLaren driver ultimately missed out on another podium. It was an incredible drive and recovery from Norris overall however (gaining 6 places from P10), as his crash in qualifying could have easily ruined his chances at any major points.

Piastri was still powering through each corner in P1, setting the fastest middle sector of the entire race. He crossed the line to confirm his now lead in the driver's championship, being the first Australian to do so since Mark Webber (his manager) in 2010. Verstappen claimed P2, and likely would have beaten Piastri if it weren't for his penalty on the very first lap.

Photo credits: "Red Bull Racing's Sergio Perez, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, Alpine's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Lando Norris battling over the final podium place at the 2022 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. (52210246114)" by fuji.tim is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.