F1 2025 calendar and race reports: The new Formula One season as it happens

We’re now five races into the 2025 Formula One season, and the early form book has become clear. As predicted, this year is one of the most competitive seasons in history but McLaren has an edge, continuing the Woking-based team’s improving form that was shown in 2024. Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are all very close on pace, as the best of the rest, though it appears that four-times world champion Max Verstappen is the only one able to extract any kind of form from the RB21.

Despite Piastri’s solid work, Dutchman Verstappen is arguably still the class of the field, driving the doors off his Red Bull F1 car (if they had doors), managing a sensational win in Japan. He had a less successful race the following weekend in Bahrain, but was again excellent in Saudi Arabia, and all of Red Bull’s points so far have come from Verstappen.

After just two races, the Red Bull team made the brutal decision to drop Liam Lawson back to its junior Racing Bulls team, swapping him for the more experienced Yuki Tsunoda at Japan. The replacement pilot hasn’t yet delivered what Red Bull needs, however, and the Japanese substitute has seen more than his fair share of prangs already.

Lewis Hamilton managed his first win for Ferrari in China (a Sprint race, but still a milestone for the Brit in his new scarlet colours) though the Italian cars were a little off the boil in Japan and can’t quite match the pace of McLaren.

Fellow countryman George Russell, meanwhile, is performing well, having stepped up to be the Mercedes lead driver after Hamilton’s departure at the end of 2024. His team-mate, rookie Kimi Antonelli, is fast but needs to find a bit more consistency.

Aston Martin will need to wait before the Adrian Newey effect kicks in — the former Red Bull Racing design chief and engineering superstar was only able to start work at his new outfit on March 1 this year, and the new team boss has said Newey’s attentions are almost entirely on Aston’s 2026 car. That’s an issue for 2025, as team has one of the slowest cars at the moment. Having said that, the whole field is close on lap times, and Aston has done marginally better in the GP weekends than predicted following the pre-season Bahrain test.

Alpine was the backmarker team, and the only team to have not scored a single point after three races, but the car came alive in Bahrain, which has a grippy surface, and Pierre Gasly managed seventh place in the race after a stunning qualifying session. The team also showed promise in Saudi, though the French driver retired after a heavy collision with Tsunoda.

Things are looking decent for Williams, despite Carlos Sainz crashing out in the wet of Australia, having to retire in China with a clutch issue, and receiving terminal damage after being hit by Tsunoda in Bahrain. There’s clearly decent pace but consistent points finishes over the rest of the year will be key for their championship chances.

When is the next F1 race?

The next Formula One race is the Miami Grand Prix, on Sunday, May 4, 2025.

If you can watch it live, the main race starts at 4pm in Miami, which for our UK readers is 9pm BST. We’ve included local times below for the UK, USA and Australia.

• London: Sunday, May 4, 2025, 21:00:00 BST (UTC+1 hour)
• New York: Sunday, May 4, 2025, 17:00:00 EDT (UTC-4 hours)
• Los Angeles: Saturday, May 3, 2025, 14:00:00 PDT (UTC-7 hours)
• Canberra: Sunday, May 4, 2025, 07:00:00 AEST (UTC+10 hours)

The full Miami GP schedule with UK timings:

2025 F1 calendar

Here’s the full schedule of grands prix for the 2025 Formula One season. After each round you’ll be able to click on links to read a report of each race.

Date	Country	Venue
March 14-16	Australia (race report)	Melbourne
March 21-23	China (race report)	Shanghai
April 4-6	Japan (race report)	Suzuka
April 11-13	Bahrain (race report)	Sakhir
April 18-20	Saudi Arabia (race report)	Jeddah
May 2-4	USA	Miami
May 16-18	Italy	Imola
May 23-25	Monaco	Monaco
May 30 – June 1	Spain	Barcelona
June 13-15	Canada	Montreal
June 27-29	Austria	Spielberg
July 4-6	United Kingdom	Silverstone
July 25-27	Belgium	Spa
August 1-3	Hungary	Budapest
August 29-31	Netherlands	Zandvoort
September 5-7	Italy	Monza
September 19-21	Azerbaijan	Baku
October 3-5	Singapore	Singapore
October 17-19	USA	Austin
October 24-26	Mexico	Mexico City
November 7-9	Brazil	Sao Paulo
November 20-22	USA	Las Vegas
November 28-30	Qatar	Lusail
December 5-7	Abu Dhabi	Yas Marina

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2025 race reports

Come back to this page in the week following each grand prix for full race reports and highlights videos.

Australian Grand Prix race report

The 2025 season was already shaping up to be a promising one, between driver changes, exciting rookies and the lack of any major regulation changes. For the first time since 2019, the F1 season kicks off “Down Under” at the Australian Grand Prix, writes Dave Humphreys. 

Calm and predictable Autumn greeted the F1 community at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne for the Friday and Saturday sessions. Qualifying threw up some surprising results, with experience proving a strength as none of this year’s six rookie drivers made it into the top ten. Pole position was clinched by Lando Norris (McLaren), who just edged out his teammate Oscar Piastri on home turf. 

Current world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) secured a third-place slot on the grid next to George Russell (Mercedes). They were followed by Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls), Alex Albon (Williams), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Carlos Sainz (Williams).

The best of the rookies was Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls, who started from 11th, just ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin — now the most senior F1 driver on the grid. 

The calm weather ended on Sunday morning as heavy rain in the build-up to the start, adding further unpredictability. Car setup changes for Ollie Bearman (Haas) and Liam Lawson (Red Bull) would see them start from the pit lane. As the drivers made their way around on the formation lap, Hadjar lost control of his car and collided with the barriers, ending his debut race before it officially began; he appeared inconsolable in the aftermath, understandably.

That delayed the start by 15 minutes as his Racing Bulls car was recovered. 

With the track already starting to dry, all cars started on intermediates, and it was clean racing into the first corner. Verstappen harried Piastri for second place, a move he made stick into the third corner. Two corners later, Jack Doohan (Alpine) lost the back end and hit the barriers, bringing out the safety car.

That should have settled things down, but conditions were still tricky as Carlos Sainz lost control of his Williams in the final corner and hit the wall. The Spaniard complained of a surge of torque (twisting force), suggesting some throttle mapping work is required at Williams.

Racing proper eventually got underway on lap 7, with Norris quickly building a gap to Verstappen. More drivers were going off the racing line in search of wet sections to cool their inters from overheating on the drying racing line. A spin for Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) saw the rookie drop down to 13th, while Verstappen made an error in turn 10, running deep and opening the door for Piastri to reclaim 2nd place, much to the delight of the home crowd. 

Piastri was in the groove now, consistently putting in fast laps as he honed in on Norris. As the gap closed, the team told Piastri to hold position as the duo made their way through to lap the backmarkers before confirming, “We are free to race now. You know the rules.”

A second safety Ccar period started on lap 34 when Alonso uncharacteristically lost control of his Aston Martin at turn 6, colliding hard with the wall. The incident prompted a flurry of pit lane activity as drivers came in to switch to slicks for the drying track. However, no sooner had the safety car period ended than teams began to report incoming rain showers. 

As the rain began to fall, teams had differing views on whether to stay out and ride out the tricky conditions on slicks to switch back to intermediates. Then Norris and Piastri skated off the track at turn 12, with Verstappen just managing to hold onto his car.

Piastri, temporarily beached, managed to reverse back onto the circuit and rejoin, but any prospect of a podium finish was now gone. Norris pitted, but Verstappen and most of the field stayed out. 

All of this promoted the Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc to 1st and 2nd. With intensifying rain Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) went off into the barrier quickly followed by Lawson in the Red Bull, ending both their races. 

As the safety car once again returned to police the field, Ferrari were forced to pit, dropping them back down the order to just within the top ten. Norris kept a cool head on the restart, now back at the front ahead of Verstappen, Russell, Albon, Antonelli, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), Gasly, Hamilton and Leclerc. 

Gasly ran wide in the first turn, opening the door for Leclerc and then Hamilton to capitalise. Verstappen made some late moves but didn’t have enough to make it by Norris, who claimed a well-earned victory.

Russell’s 3rd place on the podium, combined with a 4th place for Antonelli on his debut, gave Mercedes a haul of points to put them joint-top of the Constructor’s championship next to McLaren, as Piastri managed to get home in 9th. Vital points for Williams, Sauber and Aston Martin place them ahead of Ferrari in the team standings. 

Watch the 2025 Australian GP race highlights

2025 Chinese GP race report

The Chinese GP was back-to-back with Australia, and the drivers didn’t have much time to get to grips with the resurfaced circuit at Shanghai, writes Dave Humphreys. That’s because there was just one practice session before heading into qualifying for the season’s first Sprint Race weekend of the year.

Sprint race

With improved grip levels from the new track surface and clearly keen to overcome what he described as a lacklustre performance in Australia, Lewis Hamilton surprised many by setting a new lap record on his way to putting the Ferrari on pole for the Sprint Race. 

Max Verstappen lined up alongside Hamilton on the front row in the Red Bull, followed by Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), George Russell (Mercedes) and Lando Norris (McLaren) to round out the top six. 

As the lights went out for the 19-lap Sprint, Hamilton made a strong getaway from pole, with Verstappen defending from Piastri into the winding first corner complex. Russell and Norris were side-by-side, but a lock-up from the McLaren driver saw him tumble back down the rankings. Russel has Leclerc in his sights and, by the second lap, had made the move stick, while Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) was also progressing, moving up to 6th. 

While Verstappen was trying to keep Hamilton in his sights and keep ahead of Piastri, his teammate, Liam Lawson, was struggling in the other Red Bull at the opposite end of the field, tussling with Jack Doohan in the Alpine back in 18th. 

Several drivers were complaining of front tyre graining caused by the new track surface. Carlos Sainz (Williams) made a pit stop for fresh tyres, which saw him return at the tail-end of the field, but in the hope that he could leapfrog some of the others as the older tyres wore out. 

Back at the front, Hamilton was sailing home as Leclerc began to fight back at Russell in 4th place. On lap 15, Piastri got the better of Verstappen, who could no longer defend from the rapid McLaren. It was a lights-to-flag victory for Hamilton, his first with the Scuderia and the team’s first Sprint race win.

Piastri followed him home ahead of Verstappen. Russell held onto 4th, ahead of Leclerc, with Tsunoda claiming valuable points in 6th. he was followed by Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) and Norris, who claimed the final Sprint Race point in 8th position. 

Grand Prix

The grid for Sunday looked quite different, with Piastri breaking Hamilton’s lap record set earlier that weekend, with Russell joining him on the front row. Norris claimed 3rd for the start alongside Verstappen, while Hamilton and Leclerc took row three. Behind them were Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), Antonelli, Tsunoda and Alex Albon (Williams), making up the top ten. 

Lawson’s struggles to get to grips with the Red Bull saw the team make some further changes to the car under parc ferme, meaning a pit-lane start for the New Zealander. As the race got underway, Piastri fought off a challenge by Russell, who, in turn, lost out to Norris. Verstappen was passed by both Ferraris, but in doing so, Leclerc tapped the back of Hamilton, breaking off part of his car’s front wing. 

The race for Fernando Alonso ended after just a few laps with the Aston Martin driver reporting a major braking issue. Piastri was maintaining a comfortable gap to Norris at the front, keeping his McLaren teammate just outside of the one-second window for DRS. 

The first pit stops began on lap 11, with Pierre Gasly (Alpine) stopping, followed by Tsunoda, who made a good undercut on Antonelli to move up a place. Four laps later, Piastri and Russell pitted, soon followed by Leclerc and Norris. Ferrari didn’t change the damaged front wing on Leclerc’s car, as he seemed able to drive around the issue. 

A later pit stop for Norris saw him lose out to Russell, who had also benefitted from an “undercut”, as the Mercedes was ahead of the McLaren when it rejoined.

Stroll was caught up in the middle of it in the sole-remaining Aston Martin, but Norris had the pace once his tyres were up to racing temperature and retook his position from Russell with some DRS help.

Ferrari had some juggling to do with its drivers, as Leclerc seemed the faster of the two. After some radio discussions, Hamilton moved aside to let him through. Verstappen was in 6th place, ahead of Stroll and Ollie Bearman (Haas), both of whom had yet to stop. 

McLaren was also managing its drivers at the front, instructing Piastri to up the pace so that Norris could break clear of Russell. The risk of rain on the last few laps added yet another curve ball to the strategists. Haas’ day continued to look up as Esteban Ocon had made his way up to 7th place.

Tsunoda and Hadjar were having equally strong race performances in the Racing Bulls, but towards the end, the Japanese driver was forced into an unplanned third pit stop due to a front wing issue. 

McLaren’s stress levels increased as Norris reported a developing brake issue with his pedal going long, but would there be enough time left for Russell to capitalise?

Piastri sailed over the finish line and, much to the team’s relief, was followed by Norris to take 2nd place ahead of Russell, who was just 1.3 seconds behind at the end. 

A 4th place finish for Verstappen was as good as he could have hoped for given the car’s performance, and Leclerc took the flag ahead of Hamilton. However, there was more drama to follow as both Ferrari cars were disqualified for separate regulation breaches after the race. Leclerc’s car was found to be 1kg under the legal 800kg minimum requirement, while Hamilton’s rear skid block was 0.5mm below the minimum thickness. Pierre Gasly was also disqualified for his Alpine being underweight. 

All that meant that Ocon was promoted to 5th, with Antonelli in 6th, followed by Albon, Bearman, Stroll and Carlos Sainz (Williams). 

Watch the 2025 Chinese GP race highlights

Japanese Grand Prix race report

It was a tumultuous time at Red Bull prior to the Japanese GP, as Liam Lawson was dropped after only two races and Yuki Tsunoda swapped in from the junior Racing Bulls (RB) team — just in time for his home race at Suzuka, writes Dave Humphreys.

The unique figure-of-eight track layout is but one of the many aspects that makes the Suzuka circuit one of the yearly highlights of the F1 calendar, and Saturday qualifying didn’t disappoint.

Having looked strong in practice, McLaren seemed on course to lock out the front row of the grid for Sunday’s race until Max Verstappen (Red Bull) delivered a lap worthy of a four-times world champion. Not only did Verstappen clinch pole position, but he also set a new lap record in the process, made all the more impressive given how his car has been underperforming thus far this year.

Lining up next to Verstappen was Lando Norris (McLaren), with his teammate Oscar Piastri in third and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in fourth. The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli locked out the third row, followed by yet another impressive qualifying from Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), then Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Alex Albon (Williams) and Oliver Bearman (Haas) rounding out the top ten. 

Rain showers cleared before the race started but the track remained damp in places. Verstappen got away well at the start, moving across the track to cover Norris as Piastri slotted in behind his teammate. The rest of the pack held station as it streamed through the first few corners, with only Pierre Gasly (Alpine) attempting any sort of move as he attacked Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) on the run-up to the 130R corner; he wisely backed out at the last moment, though. 

Liam Lawson, driving once again for RB, caught some oversteer in the Spoon corner and it left the door open enough for Yuki Tsunoda — who’d started in a disappointing 14th grid spot — to slip by in Lawson’s old Red Bull car.

Despite suffering from an upset stomach, Carlo Sainz (Williams) drove well in the opening laps and made a lovely pass on Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) into the hairpin. 

Hamilton, running on hard tyres, needed a few laps to catch Hadjar but made a pass on the straight with some DRS assistance on lap six. The race continued without much action or excitement until the first round of pit stops for the front-runners. 

Rather than attempting any undercut or overcut, Red Bull pitted Verstappen at the same time as Lando Norris on lap 22. As they both exited the pit lane, Verstappen had a very marginal lead and held his line in the centre of the pit exit lane, and Norris chose to put half his car on the grass in an attempt to stay alongside the Red Bull driver. He complained at being forced off but it deemed a racing incident by the stewards, which Norris later agreed was correct.

As the pit stops shuffled through, Antonelli found himself in the lead, with Hamilton around four seconds behind. However, as the rest of the pit stops took place, the race order filtered back to where it had been at the start, with the McLarens continuing to chase Verstappen.

Piastri closed right up to the back of Norris but held position as the team considered the best strategy to deploy. This train continued for what was fast becoming a processional race throughout the entire field. Fans witnessed the occasional half attempt at an overtake into the final chicane, but there was little else to get excited about. 

With ten laps remaining, Norris had done little to close the gap under 1.5 seconds to Verstappen, but Piastri in third place became increasingly frustrated on the team radio. As the laps ticked down, Norris remained the lead McLaren driver, but he didn’t have enough performance to mount any serious challenge to Verstappen, who took an easy win in the end.

Leclerc crossed the line in fourth, ahead of Russell, Antonelli, Hamilton, Hadjar, Albon and Bearman. With all 20 cars finishing the race, the biggest losers were the fans who had little on-track excitement to enjoy.

Watch the 2025 Japanese GP race highlights

Bahrain Grand Prix race report

Piastri kept a cool head in Bahrain to show why he’s a real championship contender for 2025, while Red Bull struggled to find form, writes Dave Humphreys.

McLaren’s impressive performance continued in Bahrain, with Oscar Piastri securing pole position by a comfortable margin. The Australian driver lined up on the grid next to Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who was promoted to the front row after George Russell and his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli were both demoted one place following a pit lane infringement. One of the Saturday surprises was Pierre Gasly, who qualified fifth in his Alpine and started fourth on the grid, after the Mercedes penalties.

Lando Norris (McLaren) lined up alongside Antonelli, in sixth. Max Verstappen, who struggled with his Red Bull during the weekend, was seventh followed by Carlos Sainz (Williams), Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) and Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull). 

As racing got underway, Piastri made a solid start but it was Russell who got a lightning getaway, slipping past Leclerc and attempting to go around the outside of Piastri into turn one, only to lock up a wheel and lose vital ground. Norris moved the front of his McLaren ahead of Leclerc’s Ferrari into turn two to snatch a position on the opening lap. 

Antonelli fought with Gasly into turn seven but ran wide, losing another place. Further back, Oliver Bearman (Haas), having started in last place, was quickly making up positions and, by the second lap, had progressed to 15th.

Norris’s great start was about to be ruined by a five-second penalty for being out of position on the starting grid (something spotted by Verstappen), and he served that penalty when he made his first pit stop on lap 11, re-emerging in 14th.

Gasly and Verstappen also pitted, but a traffic light malfunction in the Red Bull pit box caused Verstappen to be stationary for longer than expected. At the front, Piastri continued to extend his lead, which was now more than six seconds over Leclerc, though the Ferrari driver took over out front when Piastri pitted on lap 15. 

Both Leclerc and Hamilton — having started on medium-compound tyres unlike the majority of the grid’s preference to start on softs — pitted on lap 18. Verstappen’s earlier slow stop that saw him switch to hard tyres was clearly frustrating the reigning world champ, and that was galvanised when Hamilton cruised by on fresher tyres three laps later while Verstappen complained to the Red Bull garage that everything in the car was overheating. 

The Red Bull driver pitted again on lap 27, and this time was delayed as the front right wheel was slow to come off, while the team continued to have issues with its release light. The same traffic light issue slowed Tsunoda’s pit stops. The Japanese driver returned to the race into a battle with Sainz, which culminated with their cars coming together after turn one, leaving substantial damage to Sainz’s sidepod and the track strewn with shards of carbon fibre.

That called for the deployment of the Safety Car as the debris was collected, prompting a slew of pit stops including one for the race leader, Piastri. Much of the front of the pack pitted, apart from Gasly, Esteban Ocon (Haas), Verstappen and Mick Doohan in the other Alpine. 

Racing resumed three laps later, with Russell now in a better position to challenge Piastri for the lead. Hamilton made a strong pass on Norris, who fought back but ran wide in the process, meaning he had to give up the position to avoid another penalty. However, the McLaren was clearly faster than the Ferrari, and Norris got the job done properly on lap 38. 

Sainz’s race woes continued as he ran deep into the braking zone, forcing Antonelli to take evasive action to avoid a collision. He was subsequently handed a 10-second penalty for forcing another driver off the track. Eventually, the damage to his car from the earlier incident would prove too much, and Williams retired the car on lap 47. 

With the laps ticking down, Norris attempted an overtake on Leclerc but ran wide. Norris wasn’t giving up, though, as he sought to bag valuable extra championship points and on lap 52, he successfully passed the leading Ferrari of Leclerc.

Next in his sights was Russell, who was reporting an increasing number of technical issues with his Mercedes. However, Russell was able to keep a cool head and manage the problems sufficiently to retain second place.

Piastri took what appeared to be an easy win in the end, making him the first driver to win more than one race this season.

A third-place podium finish for Norris was about the best he could have hoped for, given his weekend performance. Leclerc and Hamilton bagged more points by finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Verstappen, Gasly, Ocon, Tsunoda and Bearman, who completed a superb drive from last to scoring a single point in 10th. 

Antonelli finished just outside the points for Mercedes in 11th, and it was a disappointing end for both Racing Bulls drivers; Isack Hadjar crossed the line in 13th while Liam Lawson incurred a time penalty that saw him classified in 16th, sandwiched between the Aston Martin drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Another man who had a torrid time was Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber), who lacked pace and was disqualified after the race for excessive skid block wear on his car, which is a breach of the technical regulations.

Watch the 2025 Bahrain GP race highlights

Saudi Arabia Grand Prix race report

The Jeddah Corniche circuit is one of the fastest and least forgiving on the 2025 calendar, writes Dave Humphreys. During qualifying it bit Lando Norris hard, as the McLaren driver lost control of his car and ended up in the wall. His teammate Oscar Piastri delivered a near-perfect performance, but it was only enough to start from second after Max Verstappen (Red Bull) produced another stellar lap to clinch pole position. 

The second row of the grid was occupied by George Russell (Mercedes) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), followed by Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Carlos Sainz (Williams), Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull), Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and then Norris. 

Despite a cooler nighttime start under floodlights, the Jeddah track remains a challenge to drivers temperatures remain elevated. As the red lights went out to start the 50-lap race, it was Piastri who made the better getaway, nosing ahead of Verstappen into the first corner. Piastri held his line, and because Verstappen refused to back out of it he was forced to cut across the first chicane to avoid a collision. Instead of then giving up the lead, the Red Bull driver held onto it. The predictable Verstappen radio message followed, claiming that he was run off the track. The stewards began their investigation. 

A similar incident occurred between Leclerc and Antonelli, with the Mercedes driver yielding to avoid an incident. The close confines of the street circuit were too much for Tsunoda and Gasly, though, and the pair collided, sending the Alpine into the wall and bringing out an early safety car. Tsunoda was able to recover his car to the pits but the rear wing damage was too much for him to continue. 

The result of the stewards inquiry resulted in Verstappen being handed a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which he would go on to serve at his first pit stop.

Further back, Norris was driving hard to make his way back towards the front of the pack, passing Sainz on lap seven before setting his sights on Hamilton. 

The trailing McLaren driver lined up Hamilton on lap 13 and passed going into the final corner, but crucially it was before the final DRS (drag-reduction system) line, which Hamilton was able to exploit, regaining the position into the first corner. This was repeated once more on the following lap by the wily seven-times world champion, before Norris adopted a different approach on lap 15, staying behind the Ferrari into the final corner and passing on the following start-finish straight. He was then free to hunt down Antonelli. 

Piastri made his one and only visit to the pits on lap 20, switching to hard tyres. A slower-than-usual stop from McLaren gave Piastri a little more work to do as he rejoined the race while Red Bull radioed Max to get him to push hard. Russell stopped one lap later as Piastri made a daring overtake on Hamilton around the outside of turn 22. 

Verstappen stopped on lap 22, serving his time penalty before the team set to work on the car. There was a close miss for Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) with Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber), who moved under braking in the first corner. With Alonso also being Bortoleto’s manager, there was surely an interesting conversation after the race. 

Leclerc pitted later than most, on lap 30. That left Norris, who had also yet to stop, in the race lead, with Piastri behind, though the Brit stopped for fresh tyres five laps later, promoting hies team-mate back into the lead.

Verstappen was now 4.5 seconds behind but did not seem to be closing the gap. Further back, Williams was taking advantage of some clever teamwork by holding Sainz out on used tyres until Albon was within a second, and able to take advantage of a speed boost with DRS, as the Thai-British driver in turn was being chased down by Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls). 

Having struggled throughout the weekend, as the laps ticked down, Hamilton began to find a rhythm with the car and put in lap times that matched the front runners.

Despite Verstappen’s efforts, Piastri had the outright pace in front as he cruised to victory and into the lead of the championship, while Leclerc secured a deserved third-place finish.

A solid recovery drive by Norris saw him finish fourth, ahead of Russell, Antonelli, Hamilton, Sainz, Albon and Hadjar.

Watch the 2025 Saudi Arabia GP race highlights

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