F1. Saudi Arabia 2025 Review

By Gavin Huet, Aiden McLaughlin, Graeme Woolf , and Chelsea Wintle 

Driver of the Weekend

Gavin: Oscar Piastri. Again. The Australian is in a rich vein of form and now leads the Driver Championship, and deservedly so. The McLaren development is going in a direction which suits Oscar more than teammate Lando Norris and he is making it count and making it look easy, and if there is one thing that defines a F1 champion it is when they are making things look easy. It might still be early in the season but his odds of winning the Championship are shortening all the time.

Chelsea: Charles Leclerc brought home Ferrari’s first race podium of the season, and it was a stellar performance. The best he could do was fourth in qualifying, but his race pace was on point, as was his defence against Lando Norris. Most enjoyable to watch, though based on the year to date, I fear third in the constructor’s is the best Ferrari can hope for.

Aiden: We’ve all come to know that Charles Leclerc loves a street circuit, but he was so disappointed at only finishing fourth in Saturday’s qualifying, over three tenths of a second behind Max Verstappen in pole. But come Sunday, boy did he make the most of the Ferrari he had at his disposal. After getting the first 30 laps out of his medium tyres, he was able to use the hards to overtake George Russell and clinch his first podium of the season. It was a hard grind, but Leclerc still shows us often why it was he, rather than Carlos Sainz, who was chosen to partner Lewis Hamilton upon the Briton’s arrival in Italy.

Graeme: Ferrari have done it tough this year and are sitting 4th in the championship. But Charles Leclerc had a great drive in Saudi Arabia. Yes, he only made up one place from his starting spot, but given their performances thus far, to get a podium was a massive result, not only for the team, but for himself. He held off a charging Lando Norris at the end and deserves a vote this week.

 

Talking Point

Gavin: On the first lap Max Verstappen left the track in his fight for the lead with Oscar Piastri. He got the lead but was penalised five seconds (down from ten seconds as this was the first lap) for the move which he had to serve at his pit stop. But because he was leading he was in clear air and could keep his Red Bull in a nice operating window whilst those behind him had to contend with the dirty air. So how does that five second penalty actually penalise the driver in this case? The stewards needed to make that decision quicker in order to force Max to give the place back in my opinion.

Chelsea: I’ve read the infamous Horner texts from last year (and had a “please explain” from my better half about the folder named “Horney” on my computer) and it’s with this exact level of rizz that he presented a single, glossy photograph that purported to prove that Max Verstappen was ahead at turn one. It was embarrassing. The video evidence shows that Oscar Piastri was a nose ahead at the apex and Max’s now-familiar gamble had failed – sort of. The five second penalty he received could be served at his next pit stop, meaning he could theoretically cruise along in clean air for half of a single-stop race. How much of a penalty is that really?

Aiden: Good on someone who shows their true feelings, especially when they’ve had to deal with an often intrusive media for almost 20 years, but jeez, listening to Lewis Hamilton can sometimes be hard. Last year, it was dark times at Mercedes that made each weekend a guessing game as to how he’d be feeling and after a sprint win a few weeks ago, now it’s his Ferrari drive that’s failing to live up to expectations. Or is it. With Charles Leclerc getting on the podium, how much of this is down to Hamilton settling into his new team and how much, however little we want to acknowledge it, simply a case of a 40-year-old legend not being as good as he was. My guess is that we’ll still see some magic from the seven-time world champion this season, but his consistency, or lack of, means that any problems his scarlet red car has will be magnified while Leclerc leads the way.

Graeme: Penalties. The inconsistencies here are ridiculous. Turn 1 of the race saw Oscar Piastri nudge ahead of Max Verstappen, who went off track and got a 5 second penalty for gaining an advantage, rightly so in my opinion. And later in the race, Liam Lawson got a 10 second penalty for what was deemed to be the same thing. But it wasn’t. So not only were the penalties not the same but Lawson was already well ahead of Jack Doohan and already had the advantage so shouldn’t have got any penalty. Every sport asks for consistent decision making from their adjudicators and the FIA stewards here sadly lacked that.

 

Gossip Time

Gavin: There is still a lot of talk of Max Verstappen leaving Red Bull to go to Mercedes, the rumour will just not go away. So who loses out? If Kimi Antonelli is the future of the team then it has to be George Russel who goes no matter how well he is doing at the moment, and to be fair he is doing very well. But F1 is ruthless and there is no room for much sentimentality, just ask Carlos Sainz. And then where does George go…? Maybe to Aston Martin to replace Fernando Alonso?

Chelsea: My sister sent me a message this week, saying, “Good Lord, Jack Doohan is much more attractive with F1 hair and not bogan Australian hair.” I think she means you should grow it long, Jack.

Aiden: The more I see Aston Martin struggle, the more I think they are putting all their eggs in one basket, and that basket is their 2026 car. It’s not that long ago that Fernando Alonso was picking up regular podium finishes in the green machine but this season he doesn’t have a point to his name. Big shout out as well to Lance Stroll who has now suffered the most Q1 exits of all time, with 75. But this season’s car hasn’t stopped the gossip columns predict that Max Verstappen could be shifting seats next year and joining Stroll Snr’s empire. With Adrian Newey and many others on board, Honda providing the engines, and Lawrence Stroll pulling the big strings, Verstappen will surely be tempted to jump ship.

Graeme: Max Verstappen and Red Bull aren’t happy are they? Max knows he was in the wrong on Turn 1 but will never admit it. His and his team’s arrogance simply got in the way of making the quick call to give the place back to Oscar Piastri, thus nulling any need for a penalty. I think he realises now that he could have won that race if he’d done that. But he was given a 5 second penalty and finished second. His interviews, or lack of, after the race were hilarious. Old mate isn’t liking that his title challenge could be over already.

 

Looking Ahead

Gavin: Next stop is Miami where Lando Norris can once again attempt to get his season back on track, or else the team will be forced to make the decision to back Oscar Piastri whole-heartedly in the Drivers Championship. Papaya Rules can only take you so far and the team will be aware that their best chance of securing all the silverware is to choose a number one driver.

Chelsea: Fresh off Eeyore Norris’ doldrums last week, this week it’s Lewis Hamilton’s turn for navel-gazing. When asked after qualifying what he needs in order to get comfortable in his Ferrari, Hamilton simply replied: “A brain transplant.” Ouch. I don’t personally see the crisis – it was always going to take Hamilton some time to bed in at Ferrari, and hopes are pinned on 2026 at any rate – but if his confidence is shot by then, it will be a painful slog through to retirement for him. Nobody wants that for Lewis. Here’s hoping he turns up to Miami in an extra-bright designer tracksuit with an attitude to match.

Aiden: The Miami Grand Prix usually sees the Sky Sports line-up of Jenson Button and Danica Patrick reunite, which reminds me just how lucky we were to have Jamie Chadwick on the coverage last weekend. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and after just a couple of appearances last year, Chadwick showed just how valuable she is to their roster, with clear, concise messaging, and an ability to empathise with the track, the conditions, as well as good knowledge of the drivers, many of whom she has interacted with on and off the track over the years. Hopefully she has plenty more weekends booked in to work with Sky and she can juggle her schedule around her own driving commitments. On that point, Sky really do an excellent job of rotating their on-screen talent to keep them fresh and keep the coverage fresh as well.

Graeme: I said this at the start of the season, but Williams are a team on the up. Recruiting Carlos Sainz was an excellent piece of business and while he’s taken a few races to settle he looked in the groove in Jeddah. A double points finish leaves them sitting 5th in the Constructors Championship and highest of the mid place teams. They’ll be looking to hold that place and if both Sainz and Alex Albon continue to challenge those marquee teams above them, who knows what might happen.

 

Bonus Picture

Gabriel Bortoleto in the Sauber almost sending Fernando Alonso, his manager, in the Aston Martin into the wall.

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