Qualifying under the lights of the F1 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix was undisappointing the entire drama, and an incredibly tough battle for pole positions determined by the best margin.
Here are the winners and losers of the pulsating qualifying round in Jeddah…
Winner – Max Verstappen
Not one, but two stunning raps from Max Verstappen. Despite carrying more fuel in the first flyer of the third quarter, Dutchman somehow managed to pip McLaren’s Oscar Piastri Pre-Red Flag Benchmark in just 0.001 seconds.
Piastri will regain the top spot before Verstappen takes him in a sublime final run as he made the difference in that the four-time world champion again robbed the poles of his qualified favorite.
Loser – Rand Norris
Rand Norris
This was a bruise night for Randnoris as the Formula One World Championship leader received a major early blow to his title aspirations.
Norris crashed violently when he suppressed McLaren’s control at Turn 5 during the first flight lap of the fifth quarter, falling into a barrier and maintaining the huge losses that eliminated him on the spot.
Britton denies himself as a “f****** idiot” for the accident, and takes 10th place on the grid, staring at a scenario where he is likely to lose his point advantage.
Winner – Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc continues to be frustrated with Ferrari’s deficit against the leader in the 2025 F1 2025, but we can be pleased with the fact that he squeezed everything from his SF-25 again.
Leclerc dragged Ferrari fourth in qualifying at Jeddah, behind only George Russell of Verstappen, Piastri and Mercedes. What was related to him was a considerable 0.376S gap from pole position.
Despite the tricky car at his disposal, Leclerc continues to emphasize his prowess on one lap, retaining an edge over his new teammates.
Loser – Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton’s difficult patch showed little indication of a stop as he scraped off Q1 and Q2 and managed only the seventh in qualifying.
Hamilton, one second away from the pole, was over three places behind Leklerk as the qualifying struggle continued in Jeddah. The seven-time world champion admits he struggles to “bond” with Ferrari’s car, and his setup choices don’t seem to help.
It went back to Hamilton’s drawings as it felt like he had made progress in Bahrain.
Winner – Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sign scored a great P6 for Williams
Another impressive qualifying display from Carlos Sainz, who claimed to be an outstanding sixth on the grid as Williams’ only Q3 runner.
Sainz’s brilliant third quarter efforts pitted Hamilton to see him overtake his Ferrari alternatives on the second consecutive weekend.
After getting frustrated that he wanted to miss a point last time in Bahrain, Sign decides to convert his lofty grid position into a top-10 finish on Sunday.
Loser – Jack Doohn
After an encouragement show in Bahrain, it became a disappointing qualifier for Jack Doohan.
Doohan was dumped in the first quarter and only had enough time to get to 17th place, but his teammates continued to star in other Takayamas.
Winner – Pierre Guthry
Takayama clearly has a certain pace in Pierre Guthrie’s hands.
Except beaten by Williams in Sainz, Gasly is the “best of the rest” behind the main pack, and even goes ahead of Norris as Norris aims to finish consecutive points in the Middle East.
Loser – Stephen Ocon
Esteban Ocon came in 19th place with Haas and failed to cut to 15th place after seeing his rookie teammates progress into the second quarter.
Winner – Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson secured his best qualified results this year
Liam Lawson claimed the best starting position of the season so far, finishing 12th in the Racing Bulls car and became the 10th shy man to make his first Q3.
Lawson also made his teammates better in qualifying for the first time in 10 races, finishing the driver’s second-longest winning streak on Saturday.
A timely statement performance from Kiwi after the brutal start to 2025.
Loser – Beautiful
Sauber’s poor qualification when Nico Halkenberg and Gabriel Boltret collapsed on the 18th and 20th respectively.
Boltreto apologised to his team for a big spindown in turn 1, which ruined his hopes of achieving a better result.