Saudi Arabia's tight, twisty opening set of corners brought F1 another controversial moment as Oscar Piastri took back-to-back wins to put him atop the championship standings.
Max Verstappen started on pole, but Piastri had the better jump going into turn 1. Piastri tried to run him deep and Verstappen took to the run off, meaning he came away with the lead.
Before radio messages could be exchanged, Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly crashed, causing the race's lone safety car. When the race got back going, Verstappen picked up a five-second penalty.
Verstappen kept Piastri at bay before he has to serve his penalty, but Piastri came out on top from the pit cycle, and wouldn't let go. Verstappen ultimately was less than five seconds behind Piastri at the end of the race.
Lando Norris' qualifying crash doomed his chances to hold on to the top spot in the standings, but he made a decent drive back to fourth spot just behind Charles Leclerc, who grabbed his first podium of 2025.
George Russell was way off the pace of the top four on his way to fifth despite fears that his tires might give up before the checkered flag. Kimi Antonelli was behind him in sixth and Lewis Hamilton in seventh.
Williams netted double points in eighth and ninth with Isack Hadjar taking the final points spot. Aston Martin, Haas, Sauber and Alpine all went home with no points on the weekend.
F1 takes a week off before the head to the United States for the first time at the Miami Grand Prix in the first weekend of May.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Race Results
Position | Driver | Team | Running/Reason for DNF |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | Running |
2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Running |
3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Running |
4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Running |
5 | George Russell | Mercedes | Running |
6 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | Running |
7 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | Running |
8 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | Running |
9 | Alex Albon | Williams | Running |
10 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | Running |
11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | Running |
12 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | Running (10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage) |
13 | Ollie Bearman | Haas | Running |
14 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | Running |
15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | Running |
16 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Running |
17 | Jack Doohan | Alpine | Running |
18 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | Running |
19 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | DNF (crash on lap 1) |
20 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | DNF (crash on lap 1) |
Drivers' standings (after round 5 of 24)
Position | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
1 | Oscar Piastri | 99 |
2 | Lando Norris | 89 |
3 | Max Verstappen | 87 |
4 | George Russell | 73 |
5 | Charles Leclerc | 47 |
6 | Kimi Antonelli | 38 |
7 | Lewis Hamilton | 31 |
8 | Alex Albon | 20 |
9 | Esteban Ocon | 14 |
10 | Lance Stroll | 10 |
11 | Pierre Gasly | 6 |
12 | Nico Hulkenberg | 6 |
13 | Ollie Bearman | 6 |
14 | Isack Hadjar | 5 |
15 | Carlos Sainz | 5 |
16 | Yuki Tsunoda | 5 |
17 | Fernando Alonso | 0 |
18 | Liam Lawson | 0 |
19 | Jack Doohan | 0 |
20 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 0 |
- Piastri takes the lead of the drivers' standings with back-to-back wins launching him 10 points clear of his teammate.
- Verstappen holds station in third, but is right on the tail of Norris.
- Most other spots held station: Hadjar's single point and Sainz's four points put them tied at 5 points.
Constructors' standings (after round 5/24)
Position | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
1 | McLaren | 188 |
2 | Mercedes | 111 |
3 | Red Bull | 89 |
4 | Ferrari | 78 |
5 | Williams | 25 |
6 | Haas | 20 |
7 | Aston Martin | 10 |
8 | Racing Bulls | 8 |
9 | Alpine | 6 |
10 | Sauber | 6 |
- Despite Tsunoda's DNF, Red Bull kept equal ground behind Mercedes for second in the standings (22 points behind)
- Williams' double points put them back into fifth spot.