Key events
Lap 38 of 50: Leclerc is absolutely flying on his new tyres – the Ferrari has the fastest lap and is now close to overtaking Russell in third.
Lap 37 of 50: Oscar Piastri leads! It’s taken him 36 laps to get back there after appearing to lead into the first corner – but Oscar Piastri is finally out in front. He has a lead of 4.4s over Verstappen. Behind them, it looks like a battle between Russell, Leclerc and Norris for the final podium place.
Lap 36 of 50: Norris’ pit stop is a little sketchy, but he comes back out on mediums in fifth place. Hadjar also pits, and returns in 10th place – one clear of the only remaining non-pitter, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
Lap 35 of 50: Norris is about to pit – shortly after Piastri complained that “dirty air” from his McLaren rival was slowing him up.
Lap 34 of 50: The current top 10 – Norris and Hadjar are still running on their original hard tyres.
1) Norris 2) Piastri 3) Verstappen 4) Russell 5) Leclerc 6) Antonelli 7) Hadjar 8) Hamilton 9) Sainz 10) Albon.
Lap 33 of 50: Leclerc returned to the track in fifth place but has just set a new fastest lap – and he could have Russell in his sights soon. It’s heating up …
Lap 32 of 50: One of the drivers struggling is Jack Doohan, who switched tyres under the safety car. It compounds a rough day for Alpine, with Gasly crashing out on the first lap.
Lap 31 of 50: Carlos Sainz is back up to ninth place after easing past Lance Stroll. A few drivers have reported handling issues on the hard tyres – so we can’t take anything for granted yet.
Lap 30 of 50: Leclerc pits – and with great efficiency, it must be said – which means Lando Norris has climbed from 10th to 1st! He’ll have to pit soon, but it’s been a very strong race for McLaren so far.
Lap 28 of 50: Leclerc and Norris doing a great job of maintaining their pace out in front; Norris still has 3.7s on Piastri, who in turn leads Verstappen by 4.6s. One person who is struggling for pace on hard tyres is Hadjar, who has Antonelli breathing down his neck.
Lap 27 of 50: Could Norris’ Q3 crash yesterday end up benefiting him? He has a set of unused soft compound tyres that could be deployed near the end of the race. The pit window for his hard tyres is coming up – Leclerc, who is on mediums, still hasn’t pitted.
Lap 26 of 50: Leclerc leads with Lando Norris – but both men are yet to pit. Behind them, Piastri is third, ahead of Verstappen and Russell – with Isack Hadjar sixth and yet to make a stop.
Lap 25 of 50: We’re halfway through – and an awkward meeting as Bortoletto clips his manager, Fernando Alonso, near the back of the field.
Lap 24 of 50: Hamilton is relishing the chance to hold up his former title rival, but Verstappen does eventually get beyond him, at which point the Ferrari heads to the pits.
Lap 23 of 50: Verstappen returns behind Piastri! The time gap proves too big for the Red Bull, who returns to the track in fifth, just behind Hamilton. Leclerc and Norris – both due to pit – are the current top two, while Piastri has just set a new fastest lap.
Lap 22 of 50: Verstappen is pitting, just as Piastri zips smartly around Hamilton to move up to fourth. Big moment here as Verstappen serves his five-second penalty … Leclerc is the new on-track leader, but it’s all about the battle behind him.
Lap 21 of 50: “Push, Max, push!” is the roar from Red Bull’s team radio as the champion builds up a 20-second-plus gap to Piastri. Russell, second on the track, is in and out of the pit lane efficiently.
Lap 20 of 50: Piastri pits first as the race leaders switch to hard tyres, with Verstappen staying out on track, having built a 2.5s lead over the McLaren. It’s a slowish stop for the Australian, who comes back out in sixth, just behind Hamilton.
Lap 19 of 50: In midfield, Liam Lawson (remember him?) has overtaken Fernando Alonso, but the veteran is coming back at him. Norris also overtakes – he’s quickly caught Antonelli and flicks the DRS switch again to move into the top five!
Lap 18 of 50: Top 10 – 1. Verstappen 2. Piastri 3. Russell 4. Leclerc 5. Antonelli 6. Norris* 7. Hamilton 8. Sainz 9. Albon 10. Hadjar*
*on hard tyres; others on medium
Lap 17 of 50: As pit strategy comes into play, Verstappen has a 6.3s lead over Russell – so should, at worst, be able to get through his time penalty and stay in the top two.
Lap 16 of 50: Norris now goes after Antonelli, who will be in range in two or three laps’ time. Hamilton isn’t happy, saying “I’m just sliding around out here, mate. I can’t turn the rears.”
Lap 15 of 50: Piastri has been keeping Verstappen in range, the gap dipping just under a second – but now it’s creeping out to 1.6s or so. Norris hopes for third time lucky, waiting patiently this time before finally getting past Hamilton down the straight.
Lap 14 of 50: There’s a near-identical rerun on the next lap, Hamilton winning his place back down the straight, the wily old dog.
Lap 13 of 50: Norris goes after Hamilton heading into the straight, but goes a touch too soon, allowing his compatriot to fire up the DRS and retake sixth place.
Lap 12 of 50: The pit window is coming up in four laps. Only the three back-markers – Doohan, Ocon and Bortoleto – have switched tyres so far. Norris tells McLaren he would “love clean air” – not sure where’ll he find it, wedged between Hamilton and Sainz.
Lap 10 of 50: Both Verstappen and Antonelli are given a track-limits strike. The Red Bull driver is baffled, saying he has already been penalised. He’s holding a steady lead at 1.2s over Piastri, with Russell more than four seconds behind the McLaren.
Lap 9 of 50: Speaking of Lando, he’s up to seventh after getting around the Williams of Carlos Sainz. Next in his sights: the Monza red caboose of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
On Norris v Piastri, Hugh Molloy writes: “Norris would have given Verstappen unnecessary room there that Piastri didn’t even consider. That’s the difference.”
Lap 7 of 50: Verstappen describes his five-second penalty as “effing lovely” over the team radio. He should probably take his medicine – who knows, maybe he meant it seriously.
Lap 6 of 50: Piastri sets a new fastest lap, in a promising sign for McLaren’s race pace. Behind him, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli is closing on Charles Leclerc in fourth.
Lap 5 of 50: The current top 10 is …
1. Verstappen 2. Piastri 3. Russell 4. Leclerc 5. Antonelli 6. Hamilton 7. Sainz 8. Norris 9. Albon 10. Hadjar
Lap 4 of 50: Lando Norris has climbed to eighth, with Isack Hadjar (who’s also on hard tyres) pushing up four places into the top 10. Verstappen has eked out a 1.2s lead out in front.
Verstappen gets five-second penalty
The stewards have hit Max Verstappen with a pit-stop time penalty, but he doesn’t have to hand first place back to Piastri. Now, with clean air ahead, he’ll look to build up an early lead.
Lap 3 of 50: The safety car is coming in and we’re under way again – still no decision from the stewards on whether Verstappen should cede first place. Ah wait …
“He needs to give that back, I was ahead” protests Piastri over the radio. The incident is under review; I still think this will go McLaren’s way. Yuki Tsunoda is out of the race –having gone back to the pits, Red Bull quickly realise there’s no getting his car back up to racing speed.
Safety car deployed
Verstappen jostles with Piastri, then cuts across a chicane to get back in front. There’ll be a review, but I expect Verstappen will have to allow Piastri past him. Further back, Tsunoda and Gasly collide – and the Alpine man is out of the race. Tsunoda might be OK to continue, and the safety car is out early doors.
Lights out!
Here we go … Piastri takes the fight straight to Verstappen and looks to get into turn one first …
They’re off on the formation lap, through the twists and turns of this narrow street circuit. Lando Norris is starting on hard compound tyres; everyone ahead of him is on mediums.
And here’s pole-sitter and defending champ, Max Verstappen: “It’s going to be a battle with McLaren whatever the tyres or temperature … I hope our pace is a bit better today, a bit more consistency.”
R&B doyen Usher is one of many celebrities gathered near the start line. Let’s hope nobody asks him to hold a door.
Meanwhile, here’s George Russell, who starts third: “Nobody knows if it’s a one or a two stop … I want to get stuck in there, but in P3 on one of the shortest runs to the first corner … we’ll see.”
Max Verstappen is seeking a third victory in the last four races on this Jeddah street circuit, having won in 2022 and 2024. His former teammate at Red Bull, Sergio Pérez, prevailed in 2023 and Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Saudi Grand Prix in 2021.
McLaren’s Zak Brown: “[Oscar] might get an opportunity at Turn One, but if not, it’s a long race. P2 is a good position to be in, and Lando can catch up, push for a podium finish.”
And a word with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso: “We lack a bit of top speed, but we’ll see what we can do today – it’s a tough circuit, fast and the walls are very close.”
Lando Norris is making pre-race preparations with his car finally repaired after Saturday’s qualifying crash.
“I’m excited to hopefully put on a good race today and have some fun,” he says. “This track can be scary, but fun and rewarding at the same time. I’m looking ahead to today, and let’s see if I can catch up to Oscar.”
The race starts at 8pm local time, with the weather in Jeddah a balmy 26 degrees, and so sign of rain in the air. After extreme heat concerns seen in Gulf races – notably Qatar in 2023 – look out for cooling vests, jackets with fitted fans and other paraphernalia on and off the track tonight.
Oscar Piastri has had a pit-lane chat with Sky, saying: “Our car is going to be quick and we’re going to have our opportunities. There’s not going to be just one moment to try and win the race. Red Bull found a lot [this weekend] so I’m not expecting them to be slow, but hopefully we’ve still got an edge.”
Here’s how qualifying went down:
The grid
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Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
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Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
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George Russell (Mercedes)
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Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
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Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
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Carlos Sainz (Williams)
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Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
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Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
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Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
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Lando Norris (McLaren)
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Alex Albon (Williams)
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Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
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Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
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Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
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Ollie Bearman (Haas)
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Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
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Jack Doohan (Alpine)
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Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber)
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Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
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Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
Preamble
Lando Norris may be top of the early standings but the McLaren man is under pressure. After winning the season-opener in Melbourne, Norris has twice been bested by stablemate Oscar Piastri, and also came second to Max Verstappen in Suzuka.
Saturday’s qualifying crash means Norris will start 10th on the grid in Jeddah, with Verstappen on pole and Piastri right next to him on the front row. The British driver accepts he has “a big job” to get anywhere near the podium on a track lacking many overtaking opportunities.
After Red Bull’s “alarming” performance in Bahrain, a return to pole was an unexpected boost – and Verstappen will be desperate to reassert dominance with a win today. If Piastri can claim a third grand pix win in five, talk will turn to whether the Australian should be leading McLaren’s title bid.
Can Lando strike back? We’ll find out. Lights out at 6pm BST.
