Lando Norris entered Saturday’s qualifying session as the favorite for pole position.
But a wobble on his first push lap in Q3 saw the McLaren driver find the wall, bring out the red flag, and end his dreams of pole position. With teammate Oscar Piastri the only driver to set a time ahead of his crash, the grid was left chasing the one McLaren driver.
When the session finally resumed, Max Verstappen put himself on provisional pole by just 0.001 seconds. But there was more than enough time for a few more twists to the tale.
First it was George Russell who nipped Verstappen for provisional pole. Then it was Piastri’s chance to respond, and he did, taking provisional pole back from Russell by over one-tenth.
Yet the defending Drivers’ Champion was not done.
Verstappen was on his final push lap with one more chance to respond, and he rumbled out of the final turn to take pole position by just 0.010.
Piastri qualified second, with Russell third. Charles Leclerc will start alongside Russell in P4.
Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli will start fifth, with Carlos Sainz Jr. in sixth as the new Williams driver delivered his best qualifying performance of the season. Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda will start alongside each other on Row 4, and Pierre Gasly and Norris will round out the top ten in P9 and P10, respectively.
Earlier in the session Hamilton scraped through to Q2, finishing just 0.007 seconds ahead of Alex Albon who is set to start P11. With Yuki Tsunoda joining Verstappen in Q3, it marked the second race week in a row that both Red Bull drivers advanced into Q3.
While that is usually not a notable fact, it has been a slow start to the season for the Bulls.
The other four drivers eliminated in Q2 were Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Isack Hadjar, and Oliver Bearman.
The five drivers eliminated in Q1 were Lance Stroll, Jack Doohan, Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon, and Gabriel Bortoleto. A few notable drivers were under pressure in Q1, including Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, and Bearman, but all three were able to advance.
Here is the provisional starting grid for the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix:
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Provisional Qualifying Results
| Row | Position | Driver | Team | Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row | Position | Driver | Team | Position | Driver | Team |
| Row 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren |
| Row 2 | 3 | George Russell | Mercedes | 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| Row 3 | 5 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 6 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Williams |
| Row 4 | 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull |
| Row 5 | 9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 10 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| Row 6 | 11 | Alex Albon | Williams | 12 | Liam Lawson | VCARB |
| Row 7 | 13 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 14 | Isack Hadjar | VCARB |
| Row 8 | 15 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 16 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
| Row 9 | 17 | Jack Doohan | Alpine | 18 | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber |
| Row 10 | 19 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 20 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber |
