Lando Norris entered Saturday’s qualifying session as the favourite for pole place.
However a wobble on his first push lap in Q3 noticed the McLaren driver discover the wall, deliver out the pink flag, and finish his goals of pole place. With teammate Oscar Piastri the one driver to set a time forward of his crash, the grid was left chasing the one McLaren driver.
When the session lastly resumed, Max Verstappen put himself on provisional pole by simply 0.001 seconds. However there was greater than sufficient time for just a few extra twists to the story.
First it was George Russell who nipped Verstappen for provisional pole. Then it was Piastri’s probability to reply, and he did, taking provisional pole again from Russell by over one-tenth.
But the defending Drivers’ Champion was not performed.
Verstappen was on his last push lap with yet another probability to reply, and he rumbled out of the ultimate flip to take pole place by simply 0.010.
Piastri certified second, with Russell third. Charles Leclerc will begin alongside Russell in P4.
Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli will begin fifth, with Carlos Sainz Jr. in sixth as the brand new Williams driver delivered his greatest qualifying efficiency of the season. Lewis Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda will begin alongside one another on Row 4, and Pierre Gasly and Norris will spherical out the highest ten in P9 and P10, respectively.
Earlier within the session Hamilton scraped via to Q2, ending simply 0.007 seconds forward of Alex Albon who is ready to start out P11. With Yuki Tsunoda becoming a member of Verstappen in Q3, it marked the second race week in a row that each Pink Bull drivers superior into Q3.
Whereas that’s normally not a notable truth, it has been a sluggish begin to the season for the Bulls.
The opposite 4 drivers eradicated in Q2 had been Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Isack Hadjar, and Oliver Bearman.
The 5 drivers eradicated in Q1 had been Lance Stroll, Jack Doohan, Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon, and Gabriel Bortoleto. A couple of notable drivers had been underneath strain in Q1, together with Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, and Bearman, however all three had been in a position to advance.
Right here is the provisional beginning grid for the 2025 F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix:
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Provisional Qualifying Outcomes
| Row | Place | Driver | Staff | Place | Driver | Staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row | Place | Driver | Staff | Place | Driver | Staff |
| Row 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Pink 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 | Pink 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 |
