F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Race Review

The Contraversial Turn 1. C/O to the-race.com

Round 5 of the F1 season has officially wrapped up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Though it did not bring exactly the kind of fireworks we were hoping for, a lot happened as a result of the Grand Prix. Whether it be a new Drivers' Championship leader, a midfield shakeup, or costly penalties, Saudi Arabia made the grand scheme of things extremely interesting.

Before we review how every team faired this weekend, a reresher of how each Championship works and the current standings as they stand now:

Formula One has two main championship competitions. The first is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition between the drivers' individual performance. On a non-Sprint style weekend, the drivers who finish in the top 10 in each race will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship.

The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (E.g., Lando Norris has scored 77 points, and Oscar Piastri has scored 74 points, giving the McLaren team 151 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.

Now here is a look at the standings for both Championships:

Drivers' Championship Standings:

Oscar Piastri 99 points
Lando Norris 89 points
Max Verstappen 87 points
George Russell 73 points
Charles Leclerc 47 points
Andrea Kimi Antonellii 38 points
Lewis Hamilton 31 points
Alexander Albon 20 points
Esteban Ocon 14 points
Lance Stroll 10 points
Pierre Gasly 6 points
Nico Hulkenberg 6 points
Oliver Bearman 6 points
Isak Hadjar 5 points
Carlos Sainz 5 points
Yuki Tsunoda 5 points
Fernando Alonso 0 points
Liam Lawson 0 points
Jack Doohan 0 points
Gabriel Bortoletto 0 points

Constructors' Championship Standings:

McLaren 188 points
Mercedes 111 points
Red Bull 89 points
Ferrari 78 points
Williams 25 points
Haas 20 points
Aston Martin 10 points
Racing Bulls 8 points
Alpine 6 points
Kick Sauber 6 points

Standings were found at F1.com.

Alpine

Pierre Gasly post-race crash. C/O to motorsport.com

After a promising start, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was not kind to Alpine. Pierre Gasly qualified 9th but did not finish the race after crashing into Yuki Tsunoda on lap 1, while Jack Doohan qualified and finished in 17th.

First off, I do not think anyone was at fault for the crash. I feel as though it was a racing incident where two drivers were trying to gain a position on a tricky part of the track, and luck was not on their side. Yes, the move Gasly was trying to make was a little audacious, but it was not impossible by any means. It stinks that Gasly's race ended before it really began, but that's the risk that comes with trying to overtake in Jeddah.

Doohan, on the other hand, was not good this weekend. Considering Gasly made it into Q3 again, Doohan needs to at least make a Q2 appearance while also competing for a Q3 spot, but he was not really that close. He also was not able to gain anything in the race, as he anonymously just drove on his own. If Doohan wants to make it past the mid-season mark the team has reportedly set for him, he needs to be closer to his teammate. I am not saying he needs to score points every weekend; however, as a rookie, your biggest benchmark is the gap to your teammate. If Gasly is comfortably making it into Q2 and sometimes Q3, while also competing for places in the race, Doohan needs to be around that level. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case this weekend.

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso (left) pictured with his near crash with Gabriel Bortoletto (right). C/O to formula1.com

Aston Martin had about the weekend you'd expect from them in Jeddah. Fernando Alonso qualified 13th and finished 11th, while Lance Stroll qualified and finished in 16th.

This weekend was yet another example of what Aston Martin will be this year. Alonso will dramatically outperform the car, while Lance Stroll fights among the bottom dwellers on the grid. Considering how bad the car looks as a whole, Alonso was fantastic this weekend. Though he came within inches of crashing into rookie Gabriel Bortoletto, he drove a mistake-free race at a solid pace. The problem is that he has no points to show for it, which maintained his 17th place position in the Drivers' Standings. Alonso has definitely fixed the issues he had to start the year, and looking forward, could surprise some people as the year goes on.

Stroll was actually able to break a record this weekend... except, it is not a record a driver wants to have. Stroll now holds the record for most Q1 exits by a driver in the history of the sport (75). He also now has been outqualified by his teammate 130 times in his career, which is also the most in the history of the sport. Ouch...

Anyways, though his form is not helping, Stroll produced a result that was representative of how poor the car looks. It is not a good sign when a Sauber car has more pace than you in a race, which Nico Hulkenberg did over Stroll. I have said this many times and I will probably say it many more this season, but 2026 could not come soon enough for Aston Martin.

Ferrari

Lelcerc on the podium after his P3 finish in Saudi Arabia. C/O to pitdebrief.com

Finally, a sign of life!

Though there are some concerns, Ferrari capped their best weekend of the season with their first podium finish of 2025. Lewis Hamilton qualified and finished in 7th, while Charles Leclerc qualified 4th and finished 3rd.

Starting with the good parts of the weekend, Leclerc, as well as the car, looked the best he has all season. The upgrades they have put on thus far are definitely seeming to help in terms of race pace. Leclerc got the best out of the car all weekend long and patiently waited until the optimal times to pounce on his opponents. What was most impressive was how Leclerc was able to fend off Lando Norris, who was on faster (medium to Charles' hard tires) and younger (by 5 laps) tires than Leclerc on the 2nd stint. It is one of those instances where rather than trying to figure out how he did it, all you can be is impressed. Superb drive and great result for Charles.

Now, where the concerning part comes in regards to Lewis Hamilton. Lewis was an entire 31 seconds behind Charles this weekend. Major red flag.

With the same car between the two going into the weekend, Lewis looked miles behind Charles in qualifying and the race. Yes, it has not been a great start, but this is getting to the point where one can start to question whether his poor form is because he is still adjusting to a new team or if Lewis can still consistently compete at the top. His car was good this weekend, as represented by Leclerc's performance, yet Hamilton could not gain a single position at a track which he is great at.

As a Lewis Hamilton fan, I still have hope that he can turn things around, after all, it is still Lewis Hamilton, but the numbers don't lie and age is not on his side. Lewis has a lot of work to do if he wants to improve this year. If anyone can do it, it is him, but this has been a problem since the start of 2024. It is still early, but Ferrari have a major conundrum on their hands with the G.O.A.T of the sport.

Haas

Esteban Ocon (front) and Oliver Bearman (back) at their media day. C/O to motorsport.com

I was all in on Haas this weekend; however, they returned the favor, capping off a mediocre weekend with an anonymous result in the race. Esteban Ocon qualified 19th and finished 14th, while Oliver Bearman qualified 15th and finished 13th.

The main takeaway for Haas after this weekend is that they have major qualifying issues, especially with Ocon. This is the fourth time in six qualifying sessions (this includes the Sprint qualifying in China) that Ocon has been out in Q1, half of which being outqualified by his rookie teammate. It is also getting less and less logical to blame the car since Bearman has provided multiple good qualifying results.

It is clear that Haas' pace shows much more in the race than over a lap; Ocon and Bearman have had no problem competing and overtaking opponents in the race. Although, that all means nothing if they keep qualifying too far off of points. Haas can be a legitimate midfield contender, and perhaps be the best of the rest, but they need to fix this issue, and fast.

This is definitely more of an issue with Ocon than Bearman since Ollie has had multiple Q3 appearances. I also think the balance of the car is severely skewed towards race pace rather than qualifying pace. This may sound like a good thing, as the points are scored in the race; however, Haas has had multiple instances this season where the drivers cannot make up enough ground to get those points because of how far back they have started.

Kick Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg on track. C/O to sauber-group.com

Though it was a clean race from both drivers, Sauber were bottom dwellers again in Jeddah. Gabriel Bortoletto qualified 20th and finished 18th, while Nico Hulkenberg qualified 18th and finished 15th.

15th and 18th may look like an improvement at face value, but considering the 2 DNFs that occurred, in reality, it would have likely been a 17th and 20th place finish for the two drivers. Though Bortoletto was one inch away from ruining his and his manager's (Fernando Alonso) race and finished seven-tenths of a second behind his teammate in qualifying, he kept things clean in the race. Hulkenberg seemed to have driven a race of his own, as he was not near the car in front or behind all race long. Overall, Sauber left a lot to be desired this weekend.

McLaren

Oscar Piastri exiting his car after winning the Grand Prix. C/O to themanual.com

A new McLaren driver now leads the championship, making the rest of the year a heck of a lot more interesting. Lando Norris started 10th and finished 4th, while Oscar Piastri qualified 2nd and finished 1st. Norris also had the fastest lap of the race (1 minute, 31.778 seconds).

After missing out on pole by one hundredth of a second, Oscar Piastri dominated the race and pushed himself into the lead of the Drivers' Championship. He has taken full advantage of every opportunity he has been given, driving the perfect race for the second weekend in a row. Once Verstappen received a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on turns 1 and 2 of lap 1, Oscar took the lead and never looked back. If he can maintain this form, especially while Norris tries to figure things out, he has a chance to start pulling away in the Drivers' Championship.

Norris did all he could in the race, but it was not enough. A crash in Q3 ruined his chance for a race win, so the expectation shifted to a podium finish in the race. Norris was one of the few drivers to start on the hard tires, allowing him to stay out longer on the first stint and have a younger and faster tire on the second stint. However, what did him in was his inability to pull away from Lewis Hamilton midway through the race. That time he lost battling with Hamilton was what caused Lando to run out of time and not catch Charles Leclerc to secure a podium.

Preventable mistakes from a lack of confidence have plagued Norris for multiple race weekends now, and it is costing him valuable points in the Drivers' Championship. With Miami up next, Lando needs to channel his talent and show what he is capable of, or else his chances of a title could start to slip away.

Mercedes

George Russell (left) and Kimi Antonelli (right). C/O to pitdebrief.com

Jeddah proved to be the most challenging race for Mercedes to date, yet they were still able to provide a good result. Kimi Antonelli qualified 5th and finished 6th, while George Russell qualified 3rd and finished 5th.

Although Mercedes had very promising qualifying pace, it did not translate over to the race. This was mainly due to the inability for both drivers to preserve their tires without sacrificing too much pace. George's medium tires fell off a cliff, causing him to pit extremely early compared to the cars behind. Thus, George lost significant time late in the race, allowing Leclerc and Norris to overtake without much of a fight.

Antonelli drove a pretty anonymous race, maintaining 6th place after losing P5 in lap 1. Considering the trouble Russell was having with tires, the fact he still finished 4.385 seconds ahead of the Ferrari in Hamilton was extremely impressive.

Expectations were certainly higher for Mercedes, especially after qualifying, but they still scored solid points that did not cost them majorly in the Constructors' Championship.

Racing Bulls

Isak Hadjar running wide. C/O to formula1.com

Racing Bulls were bested by their midfield contender all weekend long, but were still able to come away with a point. Liam Lawson qualified and finished in 12th, while Isak Hadjar qualified 14th and finished 10th.

Given the 5-race sample size so far, it looks like RB and Williams will be each other's biggest competition as the year progresses. With the pace they showed in Jeddah and throughout the season, RB have definitely separated themselves from the bottom three teams of Alpine, Aston Martin, and Kick Sauber.

Isak Hadjar drove brilliantly, making up for his disappointing qualifying and scoring a point for the team, while Liam Lawson put together his best weekend of the season. With Hadjar's consistency and Lawson hopefully continuing to improve, RB have a very solid lineup that will give Williams a run for their money.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen hoisting his 2nd place trophy. C/O to straitstimes.com

Red Bull improved their car drastically this weekend, as their track-specific upgrades made a huge difference. Yuki Tsunoda qualified 8th but did not finish the race after colliding with Pierre Gasly in lap 1, while Max Verstappen qualified 1st and finished 2nd.

As always, Max Verstappen put his best foot forward and produced another stunning lap to put him on pole. A penalty did ruin his chance at winning, but even with the 5-second penalty, he still managed to hold onto P2. This may be the best we have ever seen Max Verstappen. The car was better this weekend, but it still has no business competing for race wins. Yet, Max continues to prove that he is elite and can drive whatever car you give him to the best of its ability.

Yuki Tsunoda, on the other hand, had a very unfortunate end to his weekend in Jeddah. A P8 in qualifying was pretty decent, and something to be proud of considering the condition of the car. The crash was not his fault, and a sad way to end any weekend, but Yuki can take a lot from this weekend and apply it in Miami in a couple of weeks' time.

The biggest thing for him this weekend was that he showed he belongs at Red Bull. He has made Q3 comfortably the past two weekends, which is something not many teammates of Max Verstappen could say over the past year. Very promising weekend for Yuki despite the DNF.

Williams

About dang time, Carlos!

Williams put together one of their best weekends as a team in Jeddah, producing double points for the second time this season. Alex Albon qualified 11th and finished 9th, while Carlos Sainz qualified 6th and finished 8th.

First off, shout out to Carlos Sainz. After an extremely difficult first few races, we finally saw the Sainz we expected to see this weekend. He qualified ahead of the man who replaced him at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, while also helping Albon fend off the cars behind. This is extremely promising for Williams to see that Sainz was comfortable enough in the car to keep Albon within DRS without the fear of being overtaken.

Albon was also solid this weekend. It was not his best, but he made the most out of the position he put himself in. Albon, with some help, fended off Hadjar and Alonso all race long, showing his defensive prowess and securing a couple of points for the team.

Though Williams were extremely far away from the top 7, that is not necessarily their fight every weekend. Williams outscored their competition in RB and Alpine this weekend, which was exactly what they needed to do. Overall, Williams can absolutely build off of a strong weekend.